


Noblesse Oblige

by Ziel



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Activism, Dubious Morality, Gen, Original Character-centric, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, POV Female Character, Scars, Talking Pokemon, Team Plasma, Terrorism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6193162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziel/pseuds/Ziel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wanted to make a difference. Team Plasma showed her how.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

It was one thing to know that the land to the east of Striaton was hilly, Dana mused, and another to have to travel it. They'd spent the last hour hiking across endless rolling hills, wading through grass that was waist-high on her. They were alone but for a few wild Pokemon that scattered as they approached. Patrat and Rattata scurried into their burrows, Pidoves and a few Pidgey took flight. These last made Dana put her head down, her face suddenly hot from something more than the sun.

"I can see the ruins from here!" Harlan's voice carried down to her from the top of the hill.

"Be there in a minute!" she shouted back.

She huffed and puffed up the slope, one hand clutching her backpack, the other holding her tabard out of the way. It was a long way up the hill. Harlan was about ten feet taller than she was, and each one of his steps was worth three of hers. He'd pulled ahead almost immediately on their journey, and she'd urged him on, not willing to let him slow down for her.

Harlan came into sight as she closed in on the top of the hilltop. The big man had a bottle of water in one hand and his hood down, rubbing fingers through his short, dark hair and making it stick up oddly. She put on a burst of speed to close the gap, and came to a halt at his side a few moments later.

"Didn't you say you were a trainer?" Harlan said, his tone more curious than scolding. "I thought you'd be used to hiking."

Dana shrugged. "I am, it's just not easy when I have this uniform on." She pulled off her backpack and withdrew her own water. She was tempted to pour half down her back; the sun had come out an hour ago and her bodysuit was practically glued to her skin.

Harlan looked at her for a moment and then frowned. "Who gave you that thing?"

She blinked up at him. Had he just _now_ noticed? "Fay. They didn't have anything in my size, so she loaned me one of hers."

She held out one sleeve of her uniform to show him. Her gloves had been a total loss, and she'd had to roll the arms and legs of her bodysuit four times. It hadn't done much to make the underlayer fit better. Fay had ten years on her, and Dana was acutely conscious of how the uni bagged out at the chest and hips. The gray surcoat they both wore over their bodysuits was the real problem though. She could roll her sleeves up, but there was nothing she could do with the tabard. It was sized for a woman, not a girl, nearly ankle-length when it should have been to her knee, and she'd had to use one hand to hold it up the entire journey.

"Honestly," Harlan said, rolling his eyes. "Just take it off. You have spare clothes in your bag, right?"

"What? No!" Dana shook her head vehemently. She'd _earned_ this uniform, and she wasn't about to take it off at the first opportunity.

"You look ridiculous."

"I…" she trailed off before managing a weak, "It's our uniform though."

Harlan shrugged and set off down the other side of the hill. "Your call."

Dana stared at his back for a moment. Harlan's uniform fit him perfectly; the surcoat's cut and color painting the picture of a modern day knight. Someone dignified. Someone strong.

She looked at herself.

Like a little girl playing dress-up.

When she caught up to Harlan at the bottom of the slope, he looked at her for a moment. She glared back, daring him to say something.

The surcoat felt much heavier when it was in her backpack.

XXX

Their destination was only a few miles away after that. Harlan had sighted it at the top of the hill, but she didn't see it herself until they crested the next rise. The ruined factory known to the locals as the Dreamyard was half-submerged in the trees, its crumbling walls and collapsed ceiling covered in greenery. A few broken windows caught the sun, shining at them and beckoning them onward.

She kept pace with Harlan for the final leg, pushing herself to keep up. Neither of them said anything, only concentrating on getting there and out of the sun.

Before long, they stood before it, a dome-like building ringed with a tall wall. The front gates were closed with a rusty padlock, still strong and sturdy despite their weathering, but nature had given them a way in. An oak had fallen on the wall, smashing a V into the concrete. The tree was too high to reach, but the gap in the wall was just low enough for Harlan to get his fingers onto the edge.

He jumped for it, pushing his feet against the wall to propel himself upward. Harlan struggled for a moment, his teeth clenched, before finally pulling himself over the lip and onto the gap, leaning against the tree to stay up.

"Cmon," he called down, lowering his hand for her.

Dana eyed the distance before backing up. She took a running start and hurled herself at the wall. She made it three steps up, her feet scrabbling for purchase against the concrete, and then threw her hands up, reaching blindly for Harlan.

He caught her, her hands tiny in his, and lifted. He was a big man, and strong enough that he hefted her up to his perch without strain.

"You okay?" he said.

She nodded, flushing a little. She should have been asking him that. All she'd done was get lifted like a sack of potatoes.

Harlan leaned over to look down the inside of the wall. "I'll go down first. You can lower yourself and I'll catch you."

She flushed deeper. "I can make it."

Harlan raised an eyebrow at that.

"I can," she added. "Trust me."

"I don't want to have to haul you back with a broken leg," he said firmly. "Don't make this some sort of girl power thing."

Dana glared at him. "It's not a 'girl power _thing._ ' I can pull my own weight." And before he could say anything else, she turned and crouched at the edge. The drop was actually longer on the inside, the ground dug out long ago for a cement floor, now scattered with dirt and dead leaves.

"Kid, don't," Harlan protested. He reached for her, but she scooted away.

"I'm a trainer, remember?"

And as if that settled it, she turned and dropped off the side, holding onto the edge and facing inward. Her hands and cheek scraped at the ragged concrete, but her grip held and she dangled there. Beside her, Harlan began scrambling down as well, trying to beat her down in case she fell. Dana hung for a moment, looked down, and took a deep breath.

A fall this long needed space.

She pulled her legs up and pushed away from the wall, immediately throwing herself into a spin. For half a breath she was weightless, arms spread wide, hair flying out behind her, and then gravity asserted itself and she fell. The ground rushed up at her. A little alarm in the back of her head was going off, telling her that she was too far, too high, too-

Her boots struck concrete and she snapped a hand out, not catching her fall but guiding her, turning her momentum into a roll. Dana tucked her head and let her shoulder hit the stone as she went end over end. She had one triumphant instant to think 'I did it!' before she realized she was tumbling straight into a thorn bush.

_Ow_.

"Kid, you okay?" Harlan called.

Dana popped out of the bush. Her face was scratched, and she was pretty sure there was Pecha berry smeared in her hair, but she grinning, her heart still pounding. Two years of gymnastics had nothing on this, getting out in the world and _doing it_ , being a _trainer._

"Never better!"

XXX

Her excitement lingered as they began their search. Traveling was a bore, but now that they were in the Dreamyard her enthusiasm was back.

This was how it began. Her first day and she was already out in the field. Harlan walked beside her, but she took the lead, wending their way through the grass.

The research facility that had become the Dreamyard was large; the pockmarked dome like a second sky above them, and ruined, low walls of stone and concrete running as far as the eye could see. The dome let in some sun, but not enough for more than a few scraggly weed trees. The majority of the plant life was tall grass and underbrush, with a few berry bushes here and there that probably fed the wildlife.

It was those Dana paid attention to. Food sources, watering holes, game trails; these were where Pokemon gathered. It was… she stopped, frowning.

"What do Munna eat anyway?"

Harlan sighed. "Shouldn't you know that?"

"I've never been around one for more than a minute," she said. "I'm eyeballing the berry bushes, but what if Munna are like Drowzee and feed off dreams?"

He groaned. "This was supposed to be quick and easy."

Dana hesitated for a moment, looking between Harlan and the nearest berry bush. A Patrat was perched in one of the low branches beside the bush, gnawing on a fruit. She honestly didn't know what Munna ate. But… she didn't want to look stupid. She was supposed to be the expert here.

"Okay," Dana said slowly. "I think… we're just gonna assume they eat actual food. This isn't rocket science, you know? The dome is only so big. Let's just wander around until we find one."

Harlan checked his watch and sighed. "Lead on."

They continued their meandering trek through the undergrowth, Dana once again took point, while Harlan stomped along in the rear. She didn't really know him well enough to say if she liked him yet, but he was beginning to get on her nerves. He was just so _loud_. How were they supposed to find a Munna with him thundering along like a Tauros?

Despite what she'd said, the area under the dome quickly outstripped her predictions. The only Pokemon she saw were the typical grassland vermin: Rattata, Patrat, Pidove. Once or twice, she thought she glimpsed what might have been a Jigglypuff, but it was impossible to tell through the tangled brush. The wild Pokemon all scattered as they approached, uninterested in a battle. Her steps grew more hurried the longer they searched, the need to prove herself, to do this _right_ like an iron weight in her chest. She had one shot at this. One shot to impress them.

They walked high and low through the Dreamyard. Behind her, Harlan was grumbling. The big man wasn't used to this kind of environment, and she could tell the hike was wearing him down.

When the brush finally parted to reveal an open space, Dana nearly jumped for joy. The gap in the undergrowth was formed by the remains of a room. Three lopsided walls held back the greenery, and the sagging remains of a stone ceiling loomed overhead.

"Here," she whispered.

The room was centered around a flight of stairs. They led down, descending into the darkness of the Dreamyard's lower level. A Munna would live down there, wouldn't it?

"I'll go first," Harlan said. Dana opened her mouth to protest, saw Harlan's face, and stayed quiet. She opened her bag and withdrew her flashlight.

"Here."

He took it and flicked it on, illuminating the steps. Thick cobwebs hung in the corners and across the yawning hole in the ground. The stairs were mossy, damp from rain and water, but didn't seem to be crumbling too badly.

"If it'll hold me," Harlan said, testing the first step with his foot. "It'll hold you."

They descended slowly. Dana stayed close to Harlan, trying to look in every direction at once. Looking for Munna seemed suddenly secondary. The basement was pitch black; she didn't like the way the darkness opened up all around them. The sunlight died off alarmingly fast, and by the time Harlan's light lit up the bottom of the stairs there was a subterranean chill in the air. It was like walking into a cave, somewhere old and deep, untouched by man and-

Harlan stopped so suddenly that Dana walked into his back.

"Wait. I thought… I thought I saw something."

She peered over his shoulder. "Where?"

Harlan lifted the flashlight, shining it around them. The narrow beam lit up only empty, dusty concrete walls and floor, and a few rusty oil drums sitting in the corner. He made a second sweep, searching more carefully this time. He-

A flash of color.

Dana hissed, pointing. "There!"

He jerked the flashlight up just in time to catch a handful of bright, segmented insectile legs in the beam. The thing scuttled into sight. An Ariados, its shelled, multicolored body as big as Dana was.

The arachnid Pokemon gave an angry trill, its black eyes glittering in the light. Before either of them could move, it fired silk from its mouth and plucked the flashlight from Harlan's hand. The tool spun wildly for a moment before the Ariados pulled it in and _ate_ it, smashing it to bits in its mandibles. The basement went dark.

They both screamed. Dana managed a single, stumbling step backward before Harlan took matters into his own hands. The big man grabbed her around the waist and ran back up the stairs, Dana tucked under his arm, both of them still yelling bloody murder. Behind them, the Ariados fired another string shot, narrowly missing Harlan's shoulder.

Returning above ground was like falling into another world. Dana blinked rapidly, her eyes burning in the sudden light, but Harlan hadn't stopped running. Trees and brush whizzed by them as Harlan put as much distance as he could between them and the stairs.

"Harlan," Dana cried. "Harlan, stop! It's not following us!"

He kept going, not seeming to hear her.

"Harlan!"

Dana punched him in the ribs. Harlan 'oof'-ed and his steps faltered enough for him to trip over a tree root and go down. She went sprawling as he fell, landing in a thick mound of dead grass.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Harlan knelt, panting, and Dana laid there, her hands still shaking.

Finally, she managed to stammer, "L-let's t-take a break."

Harlan only nodded, his face grave.

XXX

They ate where they'd fallen. Dana walked a circle in the grass, tamping it down until they had a place to sit. She unpacked her lunch and dug in while Harlan opened up a couple granola bars and a water. Both of them were quiet, eating without looking at each other, alone with their thoughts.

Dana barely tasted her box lunch of cheesy chicken and rice. She couldn't stop thinking about the Ariados. What if the Munna really were down there? How were they supposed to get into the basement if it was filled with monsters like that?

"Hm," Harlan grumbled. It took Dana a moment to realize she'd voiced her thoughts aloud. He chewed for a moment, finishing off his bar before he spoke. "You really want to go back down there?"

Dana shook her head. "No. But…" She worried her lip, thinking about it. Giving up was failing, and she could _not_ fail. "Let's keep looking up here. Maybe… maybe Munna wouldn't hang around down there?"

Harlan perked up a little at that. "Yeah?"

"Munna would be weak to a Bug-type like Ariados," she said slowly. "So why would it live in a basement where Ariados are?" The words sounded truer as she said them, and by the time she was finished, Dana felt a little spark of hope bloom in her chest. "Let's keep looking."

Harlan managed a small smile and nodded to her. Dana smiled back and returned to her lunch. She-

"Harlan!"

He jerked where he was sitting. "What?"

"Did you steal the last piece of chicken?"

"What- no!"

"Then where is it?" Dana waved her lunch box at him. "It didn't eat itself!"

"You probably ate it and didn't notice!"

She scowled at him. They'd finally connected a little bit, hit the same wavelength, and he turned out to be a food-thief.

"I didn't take it, kid," Harlan growled. "I-"

The grass rustled, and they both froze. Slowly, Harlan reached out and parted the thick stalks. There was a Pokemon there, facing away from them. Dana leaned forward to peer at it.

It was a Purrloin. The purple and cream colored feline Pokemon crouched in the grass, its long tail swaying back and forth as the creature chowed down on her missing piece of chicken.

Dana's eyes lit up, her stolen food instantly forgotten. Harlan had a Pokeball in hand, but Dana waved him back.

"Hey, Purrloin!"

The Purrloin jerked its head up, staring over its shoulder at them. It had bits of cheesy rice in its whiskers.

"Wanna join my team?"

"Pa-pur?" the Purrloin said. It turned around, and after a moment, mewed at her. Dana felt her heart melt a little. _So. Cute._

"Kid, you need to back away," Harlan whispered.

She shook her head. The Purrloin was listening to her. Slowly, very slowly, she reached out, holding out a hand for it to sniff. The feline twitched a little, its body tense, but finally stretched forward to smell her hand. Dana withdrew her hand, but the Purrloin stayed where it was, almost close enough for her to touch. It was a good sign.

"We can team up and be partners," she said cheerily.

The Pokemon cocked its head at her, and then looked meaningfully at the rest of her lunch. "Pur-pur-loin."

She took the hint and pushed the box over to it. The Purrloin immediately buried its face in the food, eating so rapidly that bits of rice flew everywhere.

Dana took the opportunity and started talking rapidly. "There'll be more food, but more than that, we'll be on a _mission_. We'd be equals. Teammates. I wanna rescue Pokemon- save them from captivity and slavery, change the world so we can all-"

The Purrloin finished eating. It looked between her and the empty lunch box, and immediately turned and ran back into the grass.

"Wait!"

Dana staggered to her feet, ready to run after it, but Harlan grabbed her arm.

"Are you crazy? Why didn't you just catch it?"

"That's not how I do things!" Dana cried. "Purrloin, come back, please! I just want to talk!"

The Purrloin vanished into the undergrowth in a flash of purple. Dana sagged and slumped back into the grass where they'd been sitting. She stared into the space where the Purrloin had gone. The warmth that had filled her at the sight of it bled away, replaced with a cold, sinking feeling.

_As if it would ever want to be with you._

Harlan only sighed. "Better luck next time, kid."

XXX

Harlan led the way after lunch. Dana was content to follow in his wake, her head down, her steps heavy. They were retracing their steps from earlier, down the ragged path Harlan had made in his flight. They gave the stairs a wide berth and continued on into an unexplored section of the Dreamyard. There was more rubble here, the crumbling walls closer together, enough that it was almost possible to see what the layout had been before the building burned.

Harlan helped her over a particularly high bit of rubble, and Dana mumbled her thanks to him. He paused, looked at her, looked away, sighed, and looked back.

"Was it really that bad? It was just a Purrloin."

She kept walking for a few feet so she didn't have to look at him. "No… not really, no." She swallowed. She couldn't tell him. Not now, not ever. They'd just met, but she wanted him to like her, wanted this to go well. And if she told him… no, it couldn't happen. "Look, it's personal."

Harlan seemed taken aback, and shrugged. "Oh."

The next wall was covered by a slab that had fallen at an angle. Dana walked up it and balanced on top of the cracked divider. Visibility was still low, but she surveyed their surroundings anyway. She might see a Munna. Or Purrloin.

After a moment, Harlan joined her. "I was thinking," he said.

Heat flared in her chest. "I told you," Dana snapped. "It's my business."

"About the basement," Harlan interrupted. "You're a trainer. Would you be able to handle the Pokemon down there? Because I'm not seeing any Munna up here."

Her anger died as quickly as it had come, and Dana flushed. He must think she was a total bitch now. "Oh."

"You're pretty good, right? That's why they stuck you with me – I don't know Patrat from Pikachu." Harlan gave her a crooked smile. The expression softened his craggy features and made him look younger, enough that for the first time that day she realized how narrow the decade between them really was. More than that, she realized that he really _wasn't_ angry at her.

"I only got the one badge," she said softly. "It's not a good idea."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." She turned away and started looking for a way down the wall. It wasn't more than a four foot drop, but the ground was rocky. Landing wrong and turning her ankle would be an amateur mistake. She-

Dana's jaw dropped.

There, through a gap in the trees, was a tiny, pink and purple shape. She blinked, not believing her eyes. And then it moved, and she saw it clearly.

Her arm rose of its own accord, pointing straight at it. "Mu-mu-Munna!"

"Shit!" Harlan whispered. "What's the plan?"

"We'll get close and I'll talk to it. If that doesn't work…" She paused, biting her lip. "You can catch it."

Harlan looked at her in surprise, but nodded.

"How to do this…" she murmured, examining the Pokemon. It had started snuffling around in the dirt, using its immature nose to root around. She wondered briefly if it was searching for food.

"Ah," she said softly. That was an angle. "Harlan, give me a granola bar."

"You're going to bribe it? Like with the Purrloin?"

"Wild Pokemon love free food." _Rose loved granola_ , a tiny, inner voice added.

Harlan withdrew a bar from his bag and tossed it to her. Dana pocketed it and nodded to him. "Let's go."

Harlan went down first, the distance insignificant for his long legs. Dana had to drop to her butt and scoot to the edge. She slipped off as slowly as she could and landed where Harlan had. The fall was jarring, but she stuck it.

They turned as one and moved toward the clearing in the trees.

The Munna had moved on since they navigated the wall, but she could still see it ahead, just visible beneath an Oran tree, chomping away on a berry. She walked carefully, stalking, her steps nearly silent in the thick grass. Wild Pokemon were jumpy, quick to flee if they didn't want a fight. Harlan trailed behind her, but she waved for him to keep his distance. Even if he didn't frighten it away with his size, two-on-one certainly would.

Dana closed in. Fifteen feet. Ten feet. Almost- the Munna looked up and Dana froze.

"Hi there," she said softly, putting on her best closed-lip smile. Most Pokemon saw smiles as bared teeth until they got used to people. Body language was something she'd tried to pick up for Rose. It hadn't worked, but she remembered all the same. With painstaking slowness, she dropped to a crouch, making herself as small as she could.

The Munna stared at her, the spot on its head flashing, its body still tense. She'd thought about catching one the first time she came to Striaton, so long ago now. Munna were telepaths. Body language didn't count as much when it could hear what she was thinking.

_I don't want to hurt you_ , she thought, trying to impress her sincerity into the words. _Let's be friends_.

The Pokemon crept forward.

_We need your Dream Mist to help Pokemon. We just want to help. Let's be friends_ , she repeated. Slowly, she unwrapped the granola bar and held it out to the Munna. _I brought food. Good food. There's more where this came from_.

The Munna blinked its red eyes at her. "Mu…" It moved a little closer. Dana couldn't hold back her excitement. Just a little more. Just a little-

A twig snapped in the woods. The Pokemon jolted and immediately shot off into the brush with a squealed "Muuun!"

"After it!" Dana screamed.

She threw herself into the undergrowth. Twigs and branches poked her face and tore at her bodysuit, but she ignored it, concentrating only on catching the little Psychic. Behind her, Harlan thundered into motion. Faintly, she could hear something else moving through the trees; whatever had startled the Munna was still there.

"Munna, come back!"

The Munna ignored her, hovering a little faster through the brush. She raced after it, leaping a log that the Pokemon zoomed under. Harlan came up hurtling past her a moment later, his long legs easily outpacing her.

The Munna rushed toward a thick tangle of thorns and brambles. If it made there, they'd lose it.

"Grab it!" Dana shrieked, forcing herself to run all out, already knowing she'd never make it in time.

"Patrat, go!" Harlan shouted. "Get the Munna!" He hurled a pokeball out in front of the Munna. His Patrat appeared in a flash of red and immediately darted after their quarry. The rodent Pokemon slammed into the Psychic and they tumbled, a ball of flailing limbs, the Munna screeching as the Patrat snapped and bit at it.

Harlan dove. Dana lost sight of the Munna as he grabbed for it. For a moment, Harlan struggled on the ground, grabbing for the Pokemon. Dana got to him just in time for him to lift the squirming Psychic, his Patrat still hanging gamely on, drawing blood from the Munna's flanks with tooth and claw.

"Gotcha!" Harlan panted.

The Munna shrilled its distress, its spot flickering erratically. It wriggled harder, gouting Dream Mist, and Harlan nearly fumbled it. Dana grabbed for it as well, trying to hold it back. Her fingers brushed through the Munna's short coat of pink hair and found a hold. It gave a disturbingly human squeal of pain as she seized it around the legs and clutched it to her chest, curling around it to keep it close. The Munna struggled for a moment more before going limp, its immature body quivering, already exhausted from the race.

"Gotcha," Harlan repeated.

Dana grinned. "Gotcha."

Harlan's Patrat pulled itself out of the grass and came to sit at his heel, staring as its partner started fumbling around in his pockets. "I've got a spare ball here somewhere."

Dana hesitated. "I'd really like to talk to it first…" She glanced down at the shaking bundle in her arms. Blood was oozing from a bite on the Munna's side, one of the floral patterns turning slowly red. She grimaced and pressed a hand to the wound, putting pressure on it. They could talk to it when it wasn't bleeding everywhere. "Go ahead and catch it."

"Hey! What are you doing!?" someone shouted.

They turned. Two people stood across the clearing from them. A boy and girl, both around her age. The boy wore dark blue, his black hair a tangle beneath his hat. The girl was round-faced, blonde, her bright clothes slightly scuffed like she'd fallen in the dirt.

"Leave that Munna alone!" the girl cried.

"What do you think you're doing?" the boy repeated, his face stormy. "It's hurt!"

Dana looked at Harlan for direction. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"You're the vet here," she hissed.

"And you're the trainer," Harlan shot back. "They're obviously trainers, you deal with them."

She jerked her chin at the Munna. "It needs to be treated. Just talk to them while I hold it."

Harlan gave the injured Pokemon a long look before nodding. "Alright." He stepped past her to face the duo, raising a lazy hand in greeting. "Hey there, how are you?"

The boy glared at him. "I asked you what you were doing."

"We were catching the Munna," Harlan said conversationally. "We need the Dream Mist to help us in our mission."

"Mission?" the girl interjected.

Harlan stood straighter as he answered. Dana's eyes widened as she watched the tall man become a knight before her eyes. It was like seeing him smile again, for just a moment his whole presence transformed to something else; his tone no longer dry, but _inspired_. "Our mission is Pokemon Liberation. We are Team Plasma, and we will save the Pokemon of this world!"

The boy moved forward, his posture stiff, his fists clenched. "Pokemon Liberation? What do you call _that_?!" He jabbed a finger at the Munna in Dana's arms. It chose that moment to give a pitiful whine, and Dana winced.

"Muuuunn…"

"That was an accident," she protested. "We'd never purposefully hurt a Pokemon!"

The boy shook his head and drew a Pokeball from his belt. "I've heard enough. Bianca, get ready! Go, Tepig!"

The piggy little Fire-type appeared in a burst of red. "Te-te!"

Beside him, the girl- Bianca, tossed out her own Pokemon. A Snivy joined the Tepig, staring down its nose at Dana and Harlan.

Dana took a step back. This was bad. This was the absolute worst. She wasn't ready for a battle. Harlan was going to find out!

"Shit!" Harlan growled. "Patrat, get in there!" His Pokemon scurried forward, its dark eyes narrowed at the two enemies.

"Pa-tra…"

"Tepig, use Ember!" the boy yelled. Tepig inhaled deeply and spat a small fireball at them. Patrat ducked, and Dana was forced to twist to the side as the Ember kept going and nearly hit her.

"You- use Tackle!" Harlan commanded Patrat, his voice shaky. "Kid, anytime!"

"Razor Leaf!" Bianca cried.

Snivy spun, leaves firing from its body like shurikens. They came slicing through the air toward them. They seemed to come in slow motion for Dana, every rotation seconds long. Bianca wasn't aiming at her; probably hadn't given it any thought. But they were close by, far closer than a standard match would be, and there was no time to dodge, and no Pokemon to block the shot.

"Kid, your Pokemon!" Harlan shouted from somewhere far away.

She had time only to meet his wide, frightened eyes. "I don't have any!"

The leaves struck her.

XXX

**Did someone say Plasma fic? Because Plasma fic.**

**I'm a little rusty on writing third-person, so this might start off a little choppier than my regulars are used to. Please bear with me as I get used to it.**

**This is responsible for delaying the next chapter of Yearning... Whoops. I hit writer's block on that at the same time I got inspired by this. Updates for this are likely going to be intermittent. I'm going to try very hard to make Yearning my main priority.**

**Concept came directly out of 'Mind Over Matter,' a Pokemon fic by Dora Milaje on Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity. Go read it. It's got a queer protag and a fascinating take on Pokemon The First Movie.**

**I've only just recently gotten into Pokemon as a fanfic fandom, though I've played the games for ages. Ironically, BW1 are the only games in Gen 5 that I haven't played. Take depictions with a grain of salt until I manage to find the time to play through Volt White or something. Going to be heavily OC focused here.**

**Other inspirations and ideas for this fic came out of:**

**Coli Chibi's 'Pokemon Black and White: Tony's Journey. Someone linked me to it for its depiction of Plasma, and I wasn't disappointed.**

**Digital Skitty's 'Pedestal' and The Straight Elf's 'Traveler' provided a lot of ideas for stuff with evos and Pokemon interaction, though nothing specific at this point. I'll reference them as they come up if I ever get that far.**


	2. 2

Her last thought before impact was simple: _Protect the Munna_.

Dana curled around it, shielding it with her arms and body. The Razor Leaves hit her in a volley, every one sharpened to a knife's edge by the Snivy's power. For a second, she felt nothing.

She felt the air first. Air touching skin through slits in her suit, air touching _gaps_ in her skin where air had never touched before; a sudden, terrifying sense of opening. The fire came next. Burning lines traced themselves along her arms, her thighs, her face. Every wound was hot, stinging as blood soaked into her bodysuit.

Dana screamed.

She'd been hurt before. Every trainer caught the wrong side of their Pokemons' attacks at some point. Rose had hit her too hard in their second week together, and Dana had hobbled around for three weeks with a bruise the size of her spread hand.

This was beyond that. Distantly, she felt the Munna fall from her hands. She was still screaming – couldn't _stop_ screaming. Dana curled up again, squeezing herself into a tiny, shaking ball on the ground, trying to stop the pain. It did nothing. The pain continued, an all-encompassing force as every heartbeat forced her to bleed more.

"Oh _fuck!_ " Harlan yelled. He was saying other things, but she wasn't listening. Bianca was screaming as well, her high voice hysterical. The boy was shouting. Their noises blurred together into a wave, sweeping over Dana and carrying her away.

She had her face pressed into the dirt, her body at once somehow distant and _still there_ , the pain continuous. She couldn't staunch it, couldn't bear to touch her wounds because it hurt- it hurt too bad to move and she wasn't screaming because it hurt too much to draw breath now.

Hands touched her and she drew away with a whine of agony.

"It's gonna be okay, kid. It's gonna be okay."

Harlan touched her again, his hands sliding under her to lift her like a child. She reached out blindly and wrapped her fingers into his surcoat, gripping it until her knuckles turned white.

"It's gonna be okay," he repeated.

They moved. Dana couldn't see where. She had her face in his chest, her eyes closed, trying to block out the world. Harlan was moving though, carrying her.

For a while, things blurred into a sickening haze of motion, Harlan's voice the only thing real. Every step of the way, he whispered. "Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit." Over and over, saying it like a mantra.

They stopped.

She only realized he was setting her down when her back touched cool concrete. Dana opened her eyes. The light above was blinding. They were in a clearing, the cracked dome above open to the sky. She turned her head a bit and saw the flight of stairs that led into the basement of the Dreamyard.

"Ha…rlan…" she croaked. "Wh…what…?"

"Stay with me," he said. There was the faint beep of a phone dialing, and then he spoke again. "Put Fay on. Yes- you- put Fay on _right now!_ " A pause. "Fay? It's Harlan. No- _Harlan,_ from the Dreamyard. We need an evac. Yeah- no- a- _no_ listen! We need an evac! I have a squire dying down here!"

Dana let her head loll to the other side. She didn't want to look at the stairs. The darkness seemed to be bubbling up out of the stairs, staining the edges of her vision. She stared away into the brush, her eyes half-closed, her lips cold, the pain so great that she wasn't feeling it anymore. The world had started spinning and wouldn't stop.

Something rustled in the underbrush. The branches parted and a creature walked out. She couldn't see it, her eyes wouldn't focus.

"Har…" she whispered, trying to get his attention.

"-need fliers on my position or a teleport or _anything_ , do you hear me?!"

Something warm and furry pressed against her forehead. The thing purred softly. The blackness rose up.

Her last sight was a pair of golden eyes, staring into hers.

XXX

White.

Sky. White sky.

Blink. The sky came into focus. Ceiling, not sky.

Her eyes were heavy. She felt very warm and sleepy. There was a faint ache through her whole body, but it was far away, someone else's. She didn't want to move. Moving would ruin the wonderful sense of _rest_ filling her.

Something shifted on the… on the bed… a soft shape in the crook of her arm… Rose?

Yes… Rose.

"Missed… you," she rasped.

Dana rolled over and went to back to sleep.

XXX

She woke.

The room was dark. She wanted to sleep, but her bladder was heavy and full, its pressure constant. Dana rolled out of bed, wincing as her feet touched cool tile.

She was halfway to the bathroom when it hit her. She stopped. Turned. Surveyed the room.

The bed was plain, the sheets pure white, plastic rails hung unused on either side. An IV stood beside it, adjacent to the bedside table. An empty bag hung from the IV stand, a few trickles of red liquid pooling in the bottom. There was a bland landscape print was mounted over the bed, and white curtains covered the only window. A faint sound of traffic from carried in from outside.

This was not her room in the Pokemon Center.

She swallowed, wincing at the foul, sour taste on her tongue.

A hospital bed.

She was in the hospital.

Memories came rushing back. The Dreamyard. Harlan. Munna. The girl and boy.

_Razor Leaf._

She walked to the adjoining bathroom, her steps slower and clumsier than they had ever been before. She shut the door and locked it. Flicked the light on.

The fluorescents were painfully harsh. She spent the long minute it took her eyes to adjust leaning against the sink, cold slowly seeping through her hands from the porcelain.

"Oh."

The girl in the mirror stared back, her mouth open.

Her hair still hung to her shoulders, but one side was shorter, a long, blond lock missing, the edge sharp and uneven. There were lines as well. Pink lines on her cheeks, her chin, the side of her neck… Dana tugged the collar of her green hospital gown to one side. Another pink line marked the top of her shoulder. She could feel more beneath her gown, on her thighs, the skin pulling taut as she moved.

She let her hand rise, touching the highest scar on her face. The skin there was furrowed, cut deeply from nose to cheekbone. It flared into life with a needle-jab of pain, and she hissed, pulling her fingers away. The pain faded, but didn't disappear entirely, dying to a slow throb beneath her skin as if to remind her that it was still there.

Slowly, she traced the wound, her fingers hovering, not touching. The cut was a half-inch below her left eye. If it had been just a little higher… Just a hair's difference and it would have been her eye.

She swallowed again. Tasted bile. She-

Someone knocked on the door. Dana jumped, a little yelp escaping her.

"Miss?" someone said from outside. "Are you okay?"

Dana opened the door slowly, blinking owlishly at the newcomer. A woman in floral-patterned scrubs stood at the door, her pink hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Nurse… Joy?"

The woman smiled. "Nurse Practitioner Joy, actually. How are you feeling?"

"Raw."

At Joy's direction, Dana made her way back to the bed. She still had to pee, but her discoveries, this woman, made her feel out of sorts, and she knew it would have to wait.

Joy went and checked the IV before turning back to Dana and examining her cuts. The process took a long time. Joy snapped on latex gloves and probed every wound on her body, touching gently with her fingers and making a note on a clipboard each time. Dana flushed red when Joy asked her to remove her hospital gown, and stood shivering and cold while the nurse went over the cuts on her chest.

"I'm sorry, dear, but this one is likely to scar," Joy said suddenly, indicating the cut on Dana's cheek. "We think two cuts intersected. There's a very good chance it removed too much flesh to regrow easily. This one as well." She pointed to another laceration on Dana's chest, a long, clean line that contoured one of her ribs, just below her left breast.

"Oh." Dana had nothing to say to that. Nothing she could say to this stranger, at least. It was something she'd worry about later, when Joy was long gone.

_Scarred. Marked._ Her failure was on the outside now.

"Now," Nurse Joy said, removing her gloves and discarding them. "You can get dressed."

Dana threw her gown back on and huddled miserably on the bed. "Are we done?"

"For now," Joy said. "I'll be back with Doctor Jonas in an hour or so for another check. But until then, you have visitors waiting."

Dana looked at her sideways. "Visitors?"

Joy gave her a pleasant smile. "Of course. Where did you think your Pokemon had gone?"

Before she could question that, Joy had bustled out of the room, humming softly to herself.

Dana took the opportunity to rush to the bathroom and finally pee. She did not look in the mirror.

When she exited, she glanced at the bed before deciding against it. The examination had left her feeling… _naked_. She started pacing between the walls, back and forth, back and forth, turning on her heel each time. Moving around made her feel better, more in control. It was getting easier the more she did it, but her body still felt slow and alien, like the time she'd had pneumonia and spent three weeks in bed.

Her pacing brought her to the window, and she pulled the curtain away to look out. It was dark out, but she couldn't see anything to tell her how late, and there were no clocks in the room. Beyond that, her window faced a wall, the concrete blank and unrelieved by even a grate.

Urgh.

She put the curtain back and started pacing again. Eleven steps either way. Every breath brought a small _tug_ as the wounds on her chest expanded. She changed the way she walked; heel, toe, heel, toe, like she was on a balance beam. It was something to focus on, a distraction.

It was eight laps of the room before someone knocked, then opened the door. Nurse Practitioner Joy returned, her smile much smaller now.

"Let's keep this quick," she snapped at someone standing just outside the door. "Doctor Jonas still needs to examine her before she goes anywhere."

The woman who entered was tall and willowy, her red hair loose around her shoulders. Her features were sharp, made more so by the thin-lipped frown she was currently directing at Joy.

"I'll do as I need to, Nurse."

Dana immediately turned and saluted, her fist to her heart. "Captain Bartlett, ma'am."

The Plasma Captain blinked, seeming taken-aback. Some of the sternness disappeared from her face when she turned to face Dana. "Marion. You- ah, at ease." She stepped aside, making way for a second newcomer.

The man who stood silhouetted in the doorway for a moment was older, white-haired beneath his tall cap. A set of heavy brown robes made him look rather old-fashioned, but the large Plasma emblem embroidered on his chest proclaimed his allegiance loud and clear.

Dana saw him and stared, disbelieving. And then she threw herself to one knee before him, bowing her head.

"Lord Sage, sir!"

Sage Bronius' thick mustache twitched in a smile. "Rise, Squire Marion, I'll say that the floor is no place for an injured girl."

Dana shot to her feet at once, ignoring the way her cuts screamed with protest. One of the most powerful Plasmas in the _country_ had just given her an order.

"Honestly," interrupted Nurse Joy. "Back to bed! You'll pull those cuts open if you keep jumping around like that."

Dana ignored her too, looking between the two officers for her orders. They exchanged a look that she couldn't decipher, but Captain Bartlett was smiling now as well, looking like she was about to laugh.

"Bed, Marion," Bartlett ordered.

Dana nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She made her way back to the bed, only realizing how tired she still was when she sank onto the soft mattress.

"May we have a moment alone with her?" Sage Bronius said to Joy.

Nurse Practitioner Joy looked like she'd rather set herself on fire than let these two strangely dressed people bother her patient, but she gave a stiff nod all the same.

"I'll be just down the hall at the desk. You have a button on the bed if you need me, Miss Marion." She paused in the doorway on her way out. "And no more bowing."

Bartlett waited for a moment after Joy left before opening the door and glancing out, checking to be sure that Joy was gone. Dana watched her, her brow furrowed. Why was she being so cautious?

Bartlett closed the door again and whistled softly. "Goodness gracious, kid. You certainly don't do things by halves, do you?"

Dana hesitated, not sure what to say to that.

The two officers moved to her bedside. Bronius offered Bartlett the chair, which she politely refused, before taking it himself. The Sage dropped into it with a groan of relief, rubbing his knees.

"Too much travel at my age," he murmured.

Bartlett stood beside him, her arms crossed, one well-manicured finger tapping her arm. "How are you feeling, Marion?"

"Ready to be out of here, Captain Bartlett. Nurse Joy said most of my cuts were already nearly healed when she looked at them."

"Good to hear, but I've told you- call me Fay," Bartlett said. "You gave us quite a scare, you know?"

"Sorry," Dana said softly, dropping her eyes. "I really messed up out there. Did we… did we get the Munna?"

Fay shook her head. "No. It escaped when you were injured."

Dana's fingers knotted themselves into the sheets. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Fay said incredulously. "Mar- _Dana_ , do you understand that Harlan failed to retrieve the Munna because he was trying to keep you from bleeding to death? He tore up that coat I gave you and used it to bandage your wounds, and you still nearly bled out before the teleporters got there."

"I'm sorry," Dana said again. Her hands were beginning to shake; adrenaline starting to course through her veins in preparation for a fight that she'd already lost. "So, you're here to discharge me now?"

"Discharge?" Bronius repeated, sounding confused.

The words stuck in her throat like sharp bones, and Dana barely managed to whisper, "From Team Plasma."

The two adults exchanged another look, this one of shock, and Bronius spoke up. "Squire Marion, why on earth would we expel you from the team?"

There was a soft _pop-pop_ as Dana's knuckles cracked, her hands tight and bloodless in the sheets. It was infinitely worse this way. It was enough to be marked, to wear her failure on her face, but this was… it was like a confession, admitting her shame to the people who would hate her the most for it.

"Because I failed, sir! I failed to catch the Munna, and then I got hurt on the job."

The old Sage leaned forward, squinting at her over his mustache. "You were injured in the line of duty, Marion," he said levelly. "Protecting a Pokemon from an attack with your own body. We call that heroism, not failure."

She looked at him- really looked at him for the first time since he'd sat down. Bronius met her stare and didn't look away, his dark eyes intent beneath their heavy lids. And there was no anger there, no disappointment at what she'd done.

It made no sense. Dana shook her head, frowning. "I don't… I don't understand, sir."

"Honestly, Dana," sighed Fay. "I just told you that you almost died, we're not worried about some Munna."

"But I failed."

Fay raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you a Captain, Squire Marion?"

"No, but-"

"Then let me worry about it. That's my job." Fay smiled at her gently. "What you did was very brave, and no one will fault you for what happened after that."

"Exactly," Bronius said, nodding his agreement. "I'm here, and Captain Bartlett is here because you nearly gave your life for a Pokemon on your first day. It is… well, you made quite an impression on us. I was already in town for other business, but I assure you, I don't take time out to visit every Squire." The Sage rose from his chair with a creaky motion. "Squire Marion, continue to serve as you have today, and I believe you will go far." And then he pressed his fist to his heart and saluted her. "Plasma."

Dana gaped at him _._

Bronius rubbed his mustache thoughtfully before addressing Fay. "I'll head back to headquarters. I think we can put off our meeting until tomorrow." With that, the Sage departed, leaving Dana wide-eyed in his wake.

She turned to Fay. "Did I die in the forest? Because this can't be happening."

Fay smiled radiantly. "You're not dying on my watch. You-" She paused, stifling a yawn. "My goodness, it's late. Bronius had the right idea. What do you say we go home and worry about the nitty-gritty in the morning?"

Dana cocked her head. "Home? Am I ready?"

Fay's gaze traced the scar on her face, and her smile faded a little. "Do you feel ready?"

Slowly, Dana uncurled her fingers from the sheets. They came away stiff, her palms creased from gripping the cloth too tightly. A gentle warmth was spreading through her, growing with each passing moment. Sage Bronius had praised her. Her failure hadn't ruined everything. They were proud of her. She was the one who had seen it wrong- they were _proud_ of what she'd done.

She returned Fay's smile, tentatively at first, but it became a grin as she realized exactly why Fay was still smiling at her. Fay was happy with her. Happy that she was okay. Not worried about her failures.

"Squire Marion, reporting for duty," Dana cheered, laughing with joy and relief as she said it. "Go Plasma!"

XXX

Dana's enthusiasm was enduring, but it didn't change the fact that leaving the hospital was a long and tiring procedure. They had to check in with Nurse Practitioner Joy again to move Doctor Jonas' exam forward, confirm the results of the exam with Attending Doctor Joy, before standing in line to check out with Medical Intern Joy. By the third encounter, Fay was snickering and making jokes about how she'd had a "Joy Dreamhouse" as a child, and that she wondered if there was an "Astronaut Joy" as well.

Dana ended up wearing another set of Fay's clothes, casual this time. She still had to roll them up and cinch the waist with a belt to get them on, but they fit better than Fay's uniform had. Fay guided her along with a hand on her arm, and Dana was content to let her captain steamroll through most of the paperwork. Dana was still exhausted by the time they made it to check out. Her body ached, and her wounds itched, and she couldn't scratch them.

Jonas had pronounced her to be healing nicely, and given her a spray and a medicated salve for the cuts, with instructions on how to apply them. If, he said, they worked properly, she'd be walking around at full health within a few days.

Medicine was amazing. It wasn't quite to the level of what Pokemon Centers used; Pokemon were naturally hardier and healed much faster, but it was still mind-boggling for Dana that she'd taken those injuries and was walking around with nearly-healed cuts only a few hours later.

They exited through the front door, and Dana took a deep breath of the warm summer air, tasting the faint scent of flowers and trees that always seemed to fill Striaton. The garden quarter was in full bloom.

"Alright," Fay said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're teleporting."

"My room is at the Striaton Pokemon Center," Dana supplied.

Fay shook her head. "You're staying with me for a few days."

A shiver ran down her spine. The idea of imposing on Fay even a little was profoundly uncomfortable. Bronius had said it himself- Plasma Officers didn't come see every old Squire. Fay had already done her a favor she could never repay by not firing her on the spot.

"You don't need to do that. I don't want to be a burden," Dana stammered. "You already came to see me, and… it's okay."

Fay's grip on her shoulder remained firm. "Dana, we've literally just walked out of the hospital. I'm not letting you run off and bleed out in some gutter."

Dana tried to protest, but Fay cut her off, her voice suddenly sharp. "I've been with the Team for five years, and I was a trainer for ten before that. I've seen a lot of horrible shit happen to a lot of good kids. Don't become one of them."

She had no answer to that.

Fay spoke to the air. "Kellis."

The air wavered, Dana stepped back as a small form appeared from nowhere. A Kirlia curtsied to Dana before reaching up to take Fay's hand. Fay moved closer to Dana, releasing her shoulder in favor of linking arms with her.

"It's easier when we're closer," Fay explained. "Whenever you're ready, darling."

Kellis blinked her red eye in acknowledgement. "Kir."

A second later, the world around them blurred into smears of color. There was an instant- a _blink_ almost too fast to even comprehend, in which everything was nothing, and-

Dana's feet struck wood and she stumbled, only Fay's hold keeping her from falling. Their surroundings flickered before coming into focus, blobs and shapes resolving into the familiar landscape of a living room.

"Welcome home, Dana."

XXX

Fay's apartment was on the south side of Striaton, about twenty minutes from the hospital, according to Fay. It was in a tall, tower complex that overlooked the surrounding town. Dana, who'd spent the last year of her life alternating between Pokemon Centers and a tent, found the clean, modern furniture and hardwood floors off-putting.

It was all wrong. This whole thing was wrong. Sage Bronius' acclaim had been unexpected, but it wasn't right to bother Fay like this. They barely knew each other! But every time she tried to speak, Fay's words rose up and caught her tongue.

"Settle in. I'll get some stuff for you." Fay waved her toward the couch before disappearing into a hallway.

Dana sat. She managed nearly thirty seconds on the couch before her discomfort drove her up again. She went to the glass doors that made up much of the far wall in the living room.

Striaton's city lights illuminated nearly to the edge of sight before dying off abruptly, none of them taller than a few stories. A handful of pinpricks in the dark, far off to the west marked the garden quarter of the city, where there were only a few, very rich houses. After years spent in Castelia, with its endless skyscrapers past the horizon, Striaton was a world apart.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" Fay said.

Dana jerked, unaware that the woman had come back. "Y-yeah. It's really nice."

Fay dropped an armful of blankets and a pillow onto the couch. "We'll get your stuff from the Pokemon Center in the morning."

Dana tried to smile, managing only a grimace. "You really don't need to."

Fay met her gaze and held it. "No, I don't. But I want to. I'll tell you what, Dana." Fay walked forward until they were very close, still holding her eyes. "You can leave if you tell me one thing."

"Yeah?"

"The forms you filled out when you joined. Why was there no emergency contact?"

"I- I didn't think…"

"You didn't think your parents might want a phone call when you almost die?"

Dana shook her head vehemently. "No! My parents were- they're- I didn't want to be a burden on them!"

There was a long silence.

Fay finally cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable. "You're not a burden. It's… it'd be more of a burden for me if you weren't here. Just sleep on the couch, okay? Please? You can consider it payment for my coat." She clearly meant it as a joke, but Dana flinched all the same.

"Sorry. I- I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

That settled it. Dana made up a bed on the couch, while Fay bustled around getting together a toothbrush and other toiletries for her. Embarrassment turned into full-fledged guilt around the point Fay came out with an old pair of pajamas that she'd outgrown. A burning, acid sensation in her stomach, the worry over what Fay must think of her lingered all the while.

"Good night, Dana." Fay hovered at the edge of the living room, her hand on the light switch.

"Good night," Dana replied.

Fay turned away, but then stopped. "Shoot, I completely forgot!" She hurried away down the hall for a moment before rushing back into the living room and tossing something to Dana. The thing landed in Dana's lap, and she looked down at it. Froze.

A Pokeball sat on top of the blankets.

"Your Pokemon," Fay said.

Dana frowned openly at her. "That's not mine."

"It was in your hospital room."

Dana picked up the ball with two fingers, holding it away from her like a poisonous snake. "It's not _mine_ , Fay."

Fay crossed the room to look at it more closely. "Send it out."

Dana bit her lip. Words floated up to her. _Rose, I choose you!_ _Go get them, Rosie!_

The ball fell from her hand and struck the floor. It sprang open, a spray of red light filling the room. The shape wavered, the glow fading.

The Pokemon tilted its angular head at her, its pointed ears twitching. "Purr."

"Cute Purrloin," Fay said, reaching down to scratch the Pokemon's head. "I told you. It was sleeping on your bed when I came to visit. The nurses made me return it, said it was unhygienic."

Dana stared. The Purrloin was young, its thin body juvenile. It was more feral than any of the Purrloins she'd seen before; its rough purple coat equally spotted with yellow, one of its ears split at the top.

"Pretty wild looking. Is it recently caught?"

Dana didn't answer. The Purrloin looked up at her. Yellow eyes met gold.

Something tickled at her memory. Those eyes.

"You're from the Dreamyard," she whispered. "I fed you."

The cat blinked slowly at her before turning away and sauntering into the kitchen.

"I've got Pokechow," Fay said. "What's it like?"

"Cheesy rice."

Fay made a face. "Pokechow it is."

XXX

Feeding Purrloin turned into an event. Kellis and a Vulpix came thundering in as soon as Fay opened the can of food. The Fire-type yipped and wagged her tails and generally made a nuisance of herself before Fay finally got annoyed and fed her some leftovers out of the fridge. Kellis sat in her owner's lap like a little girl and picked at her own plate of food, humming happily.

"I always wanted kids," Fay mused. "Didn't realize they'd be Pokemon."

Dana was quiet. She couldn't stop staring at the Purrloin currently burying its face in a bowl of Pokechow. Vulpix barked at it shrilly, and the Purrloin stopped eating to yowl back. That was as far as it went before Fay stomped her foot and yelled at them, and the two Pokemon separated.

How had it ended up here? She hadn't caught it. Had Harlan done it?

Her feelings mixed and jumbled together, becoming too snarled to even begin working through. She'd tried to recruit it, but why would it possibly want to go with _her?_ Rose and Menchi and Simon… all three of them had left her. What was to stop Purrloin from doing the same?

It was nearly 11 when Fay stood up and ordered everyone to bed. Vulpix bounded down the hallway to the bedroom, Kellis riding demurely side-saddle on her back. Fay stayed behind, watching Dana.

"Everything alright?"

"No. I… I don't know." The Purrloin nosed its way across the countertop, sniffing everything, rubbing its chin on every available surface. Dana grimaced. "It's not my Pokemon."

Fay sighed. "Let's just get some sleep, okay? Tomorrow is going to be a long day for the both of us, and I know you need your rest."

Dana nodded, returning to her bed on the couch. The empty Pokeball sat on the coffee table, just within arm's reach.

For the second time that day, Fay said good night.

"G'night," Dana murmured.

Fay flicked off the lights in the living room and headed off to bed. Her voice echoed back behind her. "I'm leaving the bathroom light on, okay?"

"Thanks!"

For a little while, the faint sounds of Fay getting ready for bed carried through the walls. When the noises faded, Dana was left alone, staring out into the dark room. Her eyes adjusted quickly, picking out details in the blackness, changing the shadows into shapes.

Sleep didn't come. Her eyes didn't want to shut, and her body wouldn't relax. The ache radiating from her tender skin joined with a deep fatigue caused by the accelerated healing and became a leaden weight. And she still couldn't sleep. As tired as she was, she couldn't quiet the steady thrum of _readiness_ going through her limbs. All the nervous energy she'd accumulated was still there; meeting the officers, leaving the hospital, imposing on Fay…

Her mind was still going strong, trying to work apart the puzzle of Purrloin, trying to find solutions, answers to other problems. Plans for what she was going to do tomorrow. Heading to the Pokemon Center and getting her stuff. She'd need to find accommodations too; trainers only got a week at a time in a Pokemon Center before they started charging for it. Other ideas bubbled up, half-formed. Ways to repay Fay. Advancing Team Plasma. Pokemon recruiting strategies. Exercise routines she could go through while her body healed. Recipes for cheesy rice…

Dana was just tensing, preparing to get up, when the floorboards creaked. She froze, peering out for the source of the sound. She was still looking when something leapt up onto the couch.

Dana squeaked with surprise, nearly throwing the blankets away before she realized what it was.

"Purrl." The feline Pokemon rubbed its head against the back of the couch, turned a circle where it stood, and then sat down in the gap between Dana's knees.

"Get down."

The Purrloin folded its paws under its body and put its head down.

"Get down, Purrloin," Dana hissed. That had always been Simon's spot, but it wasn't Simon she thought of, but Rose. "Get away."

It opened one gold eye, looked at her, and then closed it again. It didn't take a genius to decode that. _I see you. I dismiss you._

Dana reached out to push the cat off the couch.

_Do you even want to be my Pokemon?!_ The words echoed up suddenly, as devastatingly clear as the day she'd spoken them.

She stopped.

Purrloin had come back to her in the Dreamyard. It was here now, choosing to be with her.

"Purrloin…" She swallowed, her mouth dry. "Do you want to be my Pokemon?"

Both eyes opened. It raised its head and looked very pointedly at the Pokeball on the table.

"Par-purr." The contempt in its voice was clear. As was its meaning.

_Why are you asking?_

_I already am._

The Purrloin closed its eyes again.

She watched it for a long time. The Purrloin remained still but for the rise and fall of its thin ribs, its breath rasping slightly on every exhale. It was hard to tell with Pokemon sometimes, and the room was very dark, but Dana thought that maybe, just maybe, the Purrloin looked content.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She lay back on the couch and wiped her eyes on the blanket. It took some effort after that to get settled; shifting her body until the couch felt right, working hard not to disturb the Purrloin still nestled between her legs.

But when she finally lay still, the tension began to bleed away, her energy siphoning off with each deepening breath. The problems to come, the trials and tribulations to be met in the morning, suddenly seemed a little smaller.

The warm body pressed against hers was proof.

It wanted to be there. Be with _her_.

She was not alone.

Dana slept.

XXX

**Starting to find Dana's voice as a character. Hammered down most of the details in her backstory, but many of the finer details in her personality haven't come home yet. She's very different from me as a person, so it takes a little work for me to get her thought process down.**

**Not actually sure if this chapter holds up to 1 in terms of continuity for her characterization, so bear with me while I work it out.**

**Generally not a fan of using sleep/wake as a closing point to a chapter, but it fit here, and the healing nature of sleep is definitely something that works well as a literary device. Also, the healing nature of cuddly-ass Poke-cats sitting between your knees.**

**Still need to hammer out Purrloin's purrsonality. Right now, he's mostly channeling his inner asshole, like most cats do, but he'll be fleshed out as we get to know him. He's a pretty big sucker when it comes to people who feed him, it seems like.**

**Almost inserted a scene of Dana speaking to Fay while Fay is in bed, if only for the image of a Kirlia in a tiny sleeping cap, but I figured the bit with her eating dinner while sitting in Fay's lap was cute enough.**

**Could probably do to differentiate Fay's voice from Harlan's... something for me to think about.**

**Comment and critiques welcome. Especially if there are typos/errors/bits that need correcting, as I haven't started getting this beta-ed yet. I'm well familiar with the Philosopher's Stone that are betas, turning shit into gold, and once I get another chapter or two for this, I'll probably start getting it betaed.**


	3. 3

The salve had a scent like old Sitrus Berries, sharp and sour, filling Fay's small bathroom. Dana scooped up a glob of the stuff with two fingers. It had a pale orange-yellow color that made her wonder briefly if it was actually made from Sitrus, or just made to smell that way by the manufacturer. It was cool against her skin as she applied it, dabbing it over her cuts and then rubbing it in like lotion. The spots where she touched tingled and stung as the salve went to work healing her wounds.

Dana did her face last. The cuts on her cheeks and chin were already faded, little more than faint pink lines now, but the scar across her nose and cheekbone was undiminished. It was simply too large, too much of her flesh gouged away to heal smoothly. She dragged her fingers through the scar, lining it with salve, and then held her hand there.

With her hand up, she couldn't see it.

After a moment, she sighed and turned away, leaning her back against the sink. It was too much to hope for. After everything yesterday, when things had looked so bad but had turned out almost too good to believe, she'd thought it might have faded, might have miraculously repaired itself back to perfection.

The understanding was beginning to soak in. Her face was marked, permanently and eternally. She'd wear the scar every day for the rest of her life.

Dana sniffed at the thought, her eyes beginning to prickle.

"Dana, can you hear me?" Fay called, her voice muffled by the bathroom door. "I laid out a couple of old outfits that I think will fit you, okay?"

"Oh. Okay, Fay. Thanks."

A pause. "You alright?"

Did she really sound that bad?

"Do you want me to come in?" Fay asked.

Dana blanched and had to fumble for an excuse. "Ah- I can't- I'm not wearing anything, and I'm all gross and oily!"

"Can you put on a towel or something so I can use the shower?"

Dana gave the affirmative and wrapped herself in one of the bath towels. She tugged the door open to admit Fay. The older woman looked at her, and Dana felt a surge of frustration at the pity she saw in Fay's eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

Scarred. Disfigured. Ugly. Fucked up. Guilty for still being in Fay's apartment. But Fay was still looking at her, still frowning slightly, still _pitying_.

Dana shrugged. "I'm healing."

XXX

Fay started her shower, and Dana went out to have breakfast. Kellis was sitting on the couch, drinking coffee while she watched the news. The Kirlia waved at her as she passed, and Dana waved back.

Fay's Vulpix, whom Dana didn't know the name of yet, was hunkered down under the kitchen table with a bowl of food. She yipped at Dana in greeting.

"Morning."

Fay had left out a number of breakfast items; milk, cereal, bread, jelly, butter, Oran juice. Dana selected what she wanted and then leaned against the kitchen counter while she ate. The salve was slowly drying into her skin, and she didn't want to stain Fay's chairs with it or something.

Chewing pulled the skin on her face just enough to make it sting, and every bite carried a faint undertone of Sitrus. The combination meant that Dana finished her breakfast as fast as she could, tasting very little of it. The food sat uneasily in her stomach, thick and heavy enough to make her feel thicker and heavier than she already did from the healing.

Dana stood for a moment, wishing she hadn't eaten anything, and finally just moved to the sink.

Her stomach twinged, but she ignored it. Healing ate up a lot of the body's reserves, and she'd have to eat big meals over the next couple days to make up the difference. That was going to be on her time though. Eating Fay out of house and home would be a crappy way to repay her.

Moving with careful, methodical motions to protect Fay's things, she cleared the counter and started cleaning the soiled dishes in the sink. She'd just started in on a greasy skillet when Purrloin leapt up onto the counter beside her.

"Hey."

It glanced up at her before beginning to lick one of the dirty plates. Dana stopped cleaning to watch. Purrloin was… different. She kept looking at it and expecting to see Rose, only for a small part of her to sink every time because Rose was long gone.

She returned to cleaning, only to find her eyes continually drifting over to the cat as she worked. It was weird and embarrassing to think about it, but she'd had crushes before on boys at school, and this felt a little like that. She liked staring at Purrloin though, taking in all its little movements and details, happy just to be in its presence. If one part of her remembered Rose and ached, another part of her saw Purrloin and warmed, thawing like ice under the spring sun.

Purrloin was… Dana shook her head. She barely knew the Pokemon and she was already getting _way_ too attached. She didn't even know whether it was male or female.

"Hey, Purrloin." Dana relayed her question to it, holding up her left hand for 'male,' and her right hand for 'female.'

It stopped eating just long enough meow at her left hand. Dana beamed at it- at _him_.

"Great. So uh… what else? Maybe… do you want a name?"

"Pur purr," he said.

"Uh…" Dana hesitated. "Is that a yes?" She tried to repeat the yes/no signal with her hands, but Purrloin was engrossed in licking up the last dregs of cereal.

"Boy's name or pet name?"

Purrloin rubbed his whiskers to get an errant cornflake out.

Dana raised an eyebrow at him. "If you don't answer, I'm calling you 'Captain Cuddlekins' for the rest of our partnership."

It was an outright lie, one that she regretted the instant she said it. _What if he left?_

He was looking at her now though.

"Boy's name." Left hand. "Pet name." Right hand.

"Purl." Left hand.

Dana exhaled through her teeth. It was a start. As Purrloin returned to devouring Fay's leftovers, she started cleaning the dishes again. She ran names past him while she scrubbed, raising her voice to be heard over the running water.

"Leon, Liam, Lenard, Luke, Liam- wait, said that already. Uh- Gatsby. …Catsby?"

He gave her a flat stare.

"Yeah, it's stupid, I know …Tony, Bruce, Clint, Sim-" she choked mid-word. "S-Salman!" Not Simon. Never Simon.

By the time Fay returned, Dana had finished the dishes. She had also run out of names for Purrloin. He'd refused every option, and it was only because she earned a gold-eyed glare for the worst ones that she knew he'd even listened.

Fay wore her bodysuit now, though it was still unzipped, the strap of a tanktop poking out from beneath. Fay adjusted it, zipped up, and then pulled on her surcoat.

"Can you get dressed now?" she asked Dana.

Dana nodded. "Purrloin and I were just trying to pick a name." She headed back into the living room, and started going through the clothes Fay had laid out for her.

Fay turned, leaning against the doorway. "I think I've got a book of baby names in the back, if you want it. That's how I named Alexa." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the Vulpix determinedly licking every molecule of food from her dish in a way that put even Purrloin to shame.

" _My mother named me,_ " a girl's voice said.

Dana nearly tore the skirt she was putting on in half. It tangled around her knees all the same, and she wobbled, windmilling her arms to stay up. It was only years of athletics and a well-honed sense of balance that kept her standing.

"Who?!"

The words had come from behind her eyes, like there was suddenly another speaker in the inner monologue of her thoughts.

" _Over here._ "

Dana turned. There was no one there but Kellis, still sitting on the couch.

" _I am sorry, Dana. I did not mean to startle you._ " Kellis bowed her head in apology.

Dana's jaw dropped. She'd never been around Psychics much, and she'd never had one speak to her like this. It was fascinating. Not just talking to someone, but talking to a _Pokemon_ with her _mind_!

"Uh… hi, Kellis?"

Kellis blinked at her, the motion accompanied by a sudden wave of _happiness_ like a warm breeze.

" _You were distressed last night, and it was too tiring to speak with you. Are you alright now? Your feelings are still very turbulent._ "

"I'm fine," Dana said shortly. There wasn't much point in lying to a mind-reading empath, but it wasn't really something she wanted to get into, so she changed the subject. "You said your mother named you?"

"My starter, Kiva," Fay said. "Kellis is her daughter. It doesn't actually mean anything; Kiva just liked the sound of it."

Dana frowned thoughtfully. "Oh. So I should make up Purrloin's name?"

The cat in question finally made his appearance from the kitchen, wending around Fay's ankles to join Dana by the armchair.

"Purl, purr-pur purrr," he said.

" _He says 'don't over-think it. Stop listening to the fat Kirlia and get me some more food, molly.' …HEY!_ " Kellis' eye flashed red, and Purrloin meowed snidely at her.

"Kids, no fighting," Fay said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly."

Dana tugged on a t-shirt over her borrowed tanktop. "Purrloin, don't taunt Kellis, please. We're guests." She paused to pull her hair back into place. "And… what's a 'molly?'"

Purrloin closed one eye with a lazy motion. She stared. Did he just wink at her? Did Pokemon wink?

"Pur." Purrloin started toying with the laces on her shoes, batting them back and forth. He looked up again. "Purl-loin."

" _He objects to me speaking to you. Typical Dark-type." Kellis' telepathic voice was thick with derision._ " _As if I'd eat your brain or something. But a molly is a female cat. Don't worry too much about that, he means it in the sense of you being his partner._ "

"Is that so?" Dana murmured. "Kellis isn't going to do anything, you know." She raised

Purrloin's Pokeball to return him, but stopped.

_Partners_. Not trainer and Pokemon. Partners. Equals.

"Do you want to go back in?" she asked.

Purrloin nodded, blinking slowly at her. She smiled back, and then returned him.

_Molly, huh?_ Her smile grew teeth. She liked the sound of that.

XXX

"Watch the house, okay, Alexa?" Fay said.

Vulpix yipped what Dana thought was an okay, and scurried off into the apartment.

"She sleeps on my bed most of the day," Fay said, following Dana's gaze. "We usually run drills or go for a walk when I get home."

Kellis came drifting in a moment later, a small satchel over her shoulder.

"Kir," she said, radiating a sense of gentle calm. She reached up and patted Dana's hand reassuringly before taking it. Fay took Kellis' other hand, and Kellis closed her eye. There was silence, and then the air vibrated and-

_blurred_

Dana was ready for the jolt this time, and didn't stumble when her shoes thudded down on concrete. She straightened up, looking at the familiar façade of the Striaton Pokemon Center.

They entered, and Dana explained her circumstances to the Nurse Joy at the desk. Her wallet and room key were in her backpack, which Harlan apparently still had. She recited her Trainer ID number, and the Joy pulled up a slightly dated photo of her on the computer. Dana dropped her eyes when she saw her younger, unmarred face on the screen.

She led Fey and Kellis up to her rented room, and they waited outside while she traded Fay's clothes for her own jeans and a gray t-shirt. She'd wash Fay's clothes before returning them. It was easier to move around now that her clothes fit her, and she felt just a bit lighter, more at ease.

One problem solved.

"Off to work?" she asked Fay as she exited the room.

Fay nodded. "Sage Bronius is waiting for us."

A second teleport took them to just outside the Striaton Branch of Team Plasma.

The HQ building was a sprawling affair, its walls and roof made of corrugated metal sheeting that made Dana think it might be a repurposed warehouse. The only indicator that this was somewhere special was the large, neon blue Plasma insignia mounted on the front wall where a normal business might have put their sign. A few other Plasma members were already present, walking in from the adjacent parking lot, or lingering on the benches in front.

"Morning, Donnelly." Fay greeted one of the Squires on the bench.

The man rose to his feet and smiled. "Fay, good morning."

Dana kept her head down and trailed behind Fay as she walked to the front door. Fay unlocked it and they entered, the other team members straggling along in their wake. None of them paid her much attention, but Dana still walked quickly, feeling like she was under a spotlight.

They turned right as soon as they went in, heading into a hallway lined with offices. Had they gone straight, they'd have walked onto the large, open warehouse floor. There was a clear space on the floor for group meetings, but the walls were packed tight with boxes of supplies and gear. Dana's visit there had been embarrassingly brief- just long enough to try on a uniform in the locker room and find out that none of them fit a 13-year old. There were other rooms; she thought there might be bathrooms and a kitchen in the back, but she hadn't had a chance to explore yet.

Fay's office was at the end of the row of other offices, unobtrusive and smaller than Dana thought Fay deserved. It felt like it had been weeks since she'd been here last, not just a day. They stopped in just long enough for the Plasma Captain to rifle through a stack of papers in her in-tray.

"Status reports," Fay remarked, grimacing and tossing the papers back. She motioned for Dana to follow and they left the office. They moved down a side hallway she hadn't been in before until they reached an exit door. Dana watched carefully as Fay opened it; curious to the new surroundings.

The summer heat was a palpable pressure as they stepped out of the air-conditioned HQ. There was a green area behind the building, a grassy rectangle ringed with tall, ivy-covered brick walls. A small metal table and matching benches sat in the center, an umbrella creating a pocket of shade in the sunny space. Besides the two of them, the space was empty of people.

Fay stopped, pursing her lips. "Sage Bronius was supposed to be here."

"Should we look?" Dana asked.

"I'll call him, and you can stay here in case he comes back."

Dana nodded, and Fay scurried back into the building, muttering to herself about 'tardy sages.' Dana stood awkwardly for a moment before moving over to the benches and sitting down. It was a relief to get out of the sun; she was already sweating, and the heat made her feel a little light-headed. The only thing on the table was a grubby ashtray with a couple crumpled cigarette butts in it.

She started swinging her legs back and forth under the bench, dragging the toes of her shoes through the grass. Although… Bronius wouldn't like that, would he? Dana forced herself to stop fidgeting. She needed to look professional for the Sage. She'd somehow impressed him yesterday, but that had been a _fluke_ , a total accident.

What did he even want to talk about? He'd said it himself- it was unusual for him to visit a Squire. So why did he still want to meet with her?

The whole thing made her stomach churn, and any joy she'd taken in yesterday's meeting was long gone. She hadn't _earned_ his adulation. It was one thing to be happy he cared, but for him to praise her, to salute her like an equal… No. It wasn't right.

Her fingers started drumming, jittering her nails against the tabletop. She made them stop, only to begin tapping again as soon as her thoughts wandered.

Dana slapped her hands flat against the table. "Cut it out!"

It was beyond frustrating. She needed to pace, needed to move and burn off her energy, but the thought of Bronius walking in on her having a minor freakout kept her sitting. She was going to be a mess when he showed up, all sweat and nerves, unless she found a way to calm down.

Her foot started jiggling, and she let it. Her fingers started up a moment later.

It was agonizing minutes of silence before an answer came to her. _Practice_. She dealt with problems by practicing, working until she had the skills down to a science. She needed to practice talking to Bronius and get all her stupid answers out before he showed up.

That would work. Probably. Hopefully.

"Purrloin, come out!" She tossed the ball onto the grass, and her Pokemon appeared. He meowed at her, his head cocked in question for why she'd brought him out.

"Can you get up on the table? I need to rehearse."

He tilted his head in the opposite direction. _Why_?

"Look, I- I need to impress Bronius today. Let me practice talking to you and pretend you're him."

Purrloin rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't give me that. It's not that crazy, and this is really important and-" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't know what I'm _doing_!"

He sighed visibly before jumping onto the table and facing her.

"Thanks." She took a deep breath. "So, uh- sir, why did you want to see me today, sir?"

Purrloin gathered himself, puffed his chest out, and with the air of the King of the World addressing his subjects, declared, "Purl, purr purl pa-PUR!"

Dana snorted, covering her mouth to stop from laughing. "You're not helping!"

He squinted at her, feigning confusion. "Purrrl?" _Why are you laughing, subject?_

It was too much. The tension broke like glass. Dana threw her head back and laughed, the sound filling the small space. She laughed until her eyes watered, and it was only a sudden, shooting pain in the scar on her chest that got her to stop. She pressed a hand to it, still chuckling softly.

"I missed this," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "Thanks."

He was watching her, but he stayed quiet. They were alone in the garden, and it was that that let her continue. She slumped forward and rested her elbows on the table, all her nervous energy burnt away by the moment of laughter.

"I… I had a partner before you. Rose. She was my starter. I had two other Pokemon, but she was… your starter is special, you know? She used to make me laugh like that all the time."

Purrloin closed his golden eyes slowly, opened them. An acknowledgement that he was listening.

Dana swallowed heavily before speaking again. "I joined Plasma because of Rose, because of what happened. And… I didn't think I'd get another Pokemon for a long time. …I'm glad it was you."

She wiped her eyes again. Arceus, she was going to be a wreck when Bronius arrived, but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. Talking to Purrloin, telling him something she'd never told _anyone_ was like squeezing poison out of a wound. It was easing something inside her.

The pain of Rose's loss faded ever so slightly.

She sniffled, then smiled at Purrloin. "I think that's enough practice for the day," she said. "You want a… I don't know… Ear rub?"

Purrloin came within arm's reach, but she'd barely laid hand on him before he butted his chin against her palm to mark his scent and then walked away. He hopped off the table and headed for the wall.

The walls were about ten feet high and checkered with deliberate empty spaces that the ivy hung over like curtains. Purrloin disappeared into one of the gaps with a rustle of leaves, but Dana could still see the tip of his tail poking through the ivy.

"You're a dork," she said, giggling. What was he even doing? Where was he going? She didn't think he was leaving. Not like that.

The tail went still for a second, and then slid out of sight. She could just barely make out his silhouette, a shadow crossing the sun-drenched leaves as he stalked around the wall. Dana tracked his progress around the wall for a few minutes before she lost sight of him.

Something soft brushed her neck, and she jolted forward. He'd snuck up on her.

"Purrloin!" She turned, grinning at his behavior, and then froze. A Pokemon hovered in the air behind her, just touching the bottom of the umbrella.

"Hon."

Dana slid off the bench and backed away from it. It was a Honedge, one of the sword-shaped Pokemon native to Kalos.

"Hon hon hon." Honedge blinked the eyes on its sheath at her, sounding almost like it was laughing at her reaction.

"Ah…" Dana glanced about for her partner. "Purrloin, where are you?" Her voice came out embarrassingly reedy. "Purrloin!?"

There was no answering meow from across the wall, and the cat was nowhere in sight. She bit her lip. What to do? Honedge were infamous for being able to suck the life out of unsuspecting victims with their tassels, though they weren't typically as malevolent as some other Kalosian Ghosts.

There was something about it that tickled her thoughts… Kalosian. She took a few steps backward, running the word over in her mind while she tried to think of a plan.

Kalosian.

From Kalos.

What did that mean though? What was she trying to-

Honedge floated forward, closing the gap between them to barely three feet. Panic streaked through Dana, and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. " _Bonjour!_ "

The Ghost-type stopped, the face on its sheath suddenly frowning. "Hon?" Its tone was questioning.

Dana hesitated, looking around to make sure no one else was present before saying very quietly, " _Bonjour, Honedge. Comment vas-tu?_ "

Honedge's face lit up. It bounced up and down in the air, waving its hand-like tassel at her in greeting. "Hon hon!"

She waved back, keeping well away from the Honedge's tassel. " _Je m'appelle Dana Marion_. Uhm…" She wasn't really sure what to say to someone who couldn't talk back, but it was a relief that Honedge seemed to be friendly. Though… that raised other questions. What was a Honedge doing in Unova?

"Maybe… _Etes-vous sauvage?_ "

Honedge shook back and forth, indicating a 'no.'

Dana nodded. She'd expected that. " _Ou est votre partenaire_?"

Honedge's reply was lost in an angry shriek from the other side of the wall.

"Hey! You- get back here!" a woman shouted.

Purrloin shot back through the wall in a shower of torn ivy. He threw himself across the grass and into Dana's arms like a cannonball.

"Where were you?" she hissed. "I needed you."

Honedge hadn't exactly done anything, but she had still worried. She'd have been in real trouble without Purrloin.

Purrloin gave a muffled yowl in response, and then spat something out of his mouth. The object thudded into her hand, and Dana winced as she touched spit-slicked metal.

And then she her jaw fell open when she saw what it was.

A pin. It was silver inlaid with sapphire, molded in the shape of the Plasma icon, and beautiful enough that she felt queasy just holding it.

"…where did you find this?" she whispered.

It had only a second to sink in before the iron gate at the edge of the wall crashed open, hinges squealing, and a woman charged in.

"That's mine!"

The woman was whip-thin, sleek in a black suit and matching gloves. Her orange hair was braided and coiled around the back of her head like a wreath, but little wisps were coming loose and sticking up around her flushed, furious face.

The woman's pale eyes swept over them, taking in Dana, Purrloin, the pin, but went wide when she saw the Honedge.

"Durandal, what are you- no!" The woman shook her head. "Forget it- use Pursuit, stop her! Stop the thief!"

The Honedge quivered in midair, its eyes on the woman. And then it caught its sheath with its tassel and pulled. It unsheathed with a noise like metal on stone, its black blade eating up the light.

Dana opened her mouth to say something, but what came out was a scream as the Honedge lanced towards them. She dove to the side, holding Purrloin one-handed and using her free hand to push herself into a roll.

She tried at least. Her arm, still weakened from the healing, folded under her, and she went down hard, belly-flopping into the grass.

"Shadow Sneak!"

Dana tossed Purrloin to one side and then rolled in the other direction just as a viscous black shadow blurred across the grass between them. Honedge cleaved out of the shadow, narrowly missing her, its blade making an awful keening noise as it sliced the air.

Dana barely managed to get her feet under her. "Purrloin, use- do something!" she cried.

Her cat lunged at Honedge, claws out, but passed cleanly through the sword-Pokemon without harming it.

"It's a Ghost!" Dana shouted. She racked her brain for something to do. What did Purrloin know? What was he capable of? "What attacks do you have that could- yah!"

The woman had come forward without Dana seeing her. Her fist struck Dana in the face like a sledgehammer, and Dana fell back, her ears ringing. She kicked out from the ground and tried to trip the woman. She felt her foot connect, and the woman cried out as Dana knocked her down.

Her attacker was down for barely a second. She got her feet under her and barreled into Dana like a wild Tauros. Dana's back struck the ground and she twisted, trying to throw the woman off her. Her arms failed her for a second time, too weak to push the woman away.

And then the woman hit her in the face again. Her lip mashed against her teeth, and she felt it split. Hot copper joined the scent of crushed grass. For an instant, she blinked back tears, the sun stabbing her eyes, not at Plasma HQ, but back in the Dreamyard again, bleeding out in the grass and-

_You almost died, Dana._

The next blow snapped her back to reality. Dana shrieked as the woman back-handed her across the face. She shoved feebly, trying to get away, but her attacker had her pinned under her body; an adult's weight holding her down with ease.

_Nearly bled out before Harlan got to you._

It was that easy. It could happen, just like that.

Terror filled her. Her struggles intensified, her hands flailing and beating against the woman's chest.

She didn't want to die.

She screamed. Her voice was raw and animal, too afraid to form words.

Purrloin answered her.

He came in like a tornado, a furious snarl ripping its way out of his chest. He caught the woman in the throat, and she was the one screaming now, hoarse with pain as he drew bloody lines across her skin.

The woman seized him, digging her fingers into his fur, and hurled him away. Purrloin hit the ground hard, but got up, his legs shaking. Honedge streaked toward him, but Dana didn't see what happened, because the woman grabbed her by the collar.

"Lousy little thief!" the woman yelled.

_Purrloin_.

There was no thought beyond that. It was a simple, burning fact.

_She hurt Purrloin_.

Dana lashed out, blind with fear and rage. Her forehead smashed into the woman's nose and they both howled with pain. Dana blinked away stars and then struck again, driving her head into the woman's face.

"You bitch!" The woman's voice was thick now, her nose pouring blood. Dana tried to headbutt her again, but the woman jerked her head to the side and Dana missed. The woman's counterpunch rocked the back of Dana's skull into the hard earth.

The world swam around her, and her vision flickered and rolled like a bad movie reel. Dana fought back with dreamlike slowness, her limbs suddenly, terrifyingly far off, far too weak and slow to deal out the hits she needed. Her fist slugged the woman in the shoulder, and the woman hit her back. Dana didn't feel it. She was too afraid, too angry for pain. She locked her fingers into the woman's hair and pulled with all her might, tearing the neat braid apart.

The woman screamed again, not a protest this time, but a furious command. "Durandal, to me!"

Honedge shot through the air into the woman's waiting hand. The woman caught it and stabbed downward.

"Protect!"

Honedge's blade swerved to the side, sparks grinding from the edge, and embedded itself in the ground beside Dana's throat.

Dana gasped. A glowing blue barrier had appeared around her, blocking the woman's strike.

"Split them up!"

A wave of _force_ surrounded her, like pressure over every inch of her body. A second later, the two of them were jerked apart and sent skidding across the lawn in opposite directions. Dana made it to her knees, ready in case the woman attacked again, but the force resumed, holding her in place. Ten feet away, she could see a faint glow around her attacker, restraining her as well.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" someone shrieked.

Dana blinked, her tunnel vision fading, and turned to see who had spoken.

Fay had returned. The Captain moved to stand between them, her face red nearly as red as her hair. Kellis and Sage Bronius stood at the back door to the building. Kellis' eyes were glowing, holding them in place with her telekinesis.

"Gracia, what's going on here?" Bronius said to the woman. There was no kind, grandfatherly expression on his face now, only grim anger.

Fay motioned to Kellis, and the force surrounding them faded.

The woman- Gracia, stood slowly, smoothing dirt off her suit. "The girl stole my pin," she said, pointing at Dana with Honedge.

Dana staggered up a moment later. She swayed on her feet, and Fay moved to steady her, putting an arm around her.

"Arceus," Fay said. "You're bleeding everywhere."

Dana wiped her face, staring at the red on her hands. _Would it scar?_

Fay rummaged in her purse before pulling out a small packet of tissues. She started blotting at Dana's cuts. "Dana, talk to me. What happened?"

She swallowed, tasting blood in her mouth, and then spoke. "Purrloin. He brought back a pin." She looked around and found the item in the grass beside the table. Purrloin crouched beside it, nursing a cut on his leg. Anger blossomed and renewed. All that for a stupid little pin. She'd almost gotten killed, and Purrloin was injured. For a trinket.

She jabbed a finger at Gracia. "I didn't steal anything, but that _psycho_ attacked me!"  
Gracia's lip curled. "Liar! You-" Honedge tugged at her sleeve and she stopped.

"Hon hon, honedge-hone!" it said.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Fay said coolly. "Kellis, your help please?"

Kellis' voice echoed in Dana's head. " _Durandal says that he was speaking with Dana and that she had nothing to do with the robbery._ "

"That's nonsense," Gracia said, giving Honedge a contemptuous look. "She obviously sent her Purrloin to do the deed while she stayed out of the way!"

Dana clenched her fists, glaring at Gracia. Her face ached terribly, radiating waves of pain through her whole head. "I had nothing to do with it! What gives you the right to just attack me, huh?"

"I have the right to protect my property-"

"By coming at me with a sword like a-"

"I will not be stolen from-"

"-crazy bitch! You-"

"-by some little girl with-"

"Enough!" Bronius' voice cut through their argument like a thunderclap. He turned a stern gaze on each of them in turn. "Gracia, I think it would be obvious what happened here. Miss Marion owns a Purrloin, well-known for their kleptomaniacal tendencies. Do you truly believe this is some elaborate heist to steal…" Bronius moved to pick up Gracia's pin and examined it. "Your lapel pin?"

Gracia's face went hard. "That pin was given to me at my promotion by the King himself. It's the one of the most precious things I own, and I'll not stand by and let some little brat steal it!"

"Even so," Fay cut in. "That does not give you the right to attack her like that."

"I do not take orders from you, _Captain_ ," Gracia snarled.

"It's my business when it's a 13-year old girl in my care who just got out of the hospital!" Fay shot back. "She's a child, and you're a grown woman, Knight or not."

The words took a moment to sink in. _Knight._ As if by accident, Dana's eyes settled on Gracia's pin. The facts clicked together. Bronius and Fay both knew Gracia. Gracia, who had a Plasma pin.

Gracia who was…

"You're a Knight?" Dana growled.

Gracia ignored her.

Dana's anger flared up. Her whole body hurt, her lip stung, and one of her eyes felt swollen. She was riding the adrenaline rush, too angry to care, too furious to pick her words.

"You hired this psycho as a Knight!?" Knights were supposed to be _good,_ defenders of the cause- not- not crazy, sword-wielding lunatics who tried to cut your throat for a pin and-

Dana spoke to Gracia through gritted teeth. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't call the cops on you."

The three adults all went very still. Gracia and Fay both turned to look at Bronius, who shook his head. "Miss Marion, I think we should keep this between us. It is… not the Plasma way to involve outsiders in our dealings."

"But-"

" _No_." Bronius' voice was implacable as old oak. "Both of you be quiet." He rubbed his mustache, his agitation clear, before speaking again.

"Gracia, you were wronged here, but we expect a certain level of conduct from our Knights. I've told you to control your temper before, and yet I find you brawling in the dirt like a common Mankey." Gracia made to speak, but the Sage fixed her with a glare. "I said _be quiet,_ Gracia. Fay may take orders from you, but you answer to me, and I am telling you to shut up. And as for you, Miss Marion…"

Dana snapped her attention to him. "Sir?"

"I expect a similar conduct from you. That includes controlling your Pokemon. Their actions are your actions. Stealing from other operatives will not be tolerated again, understand?"

Her face burned from more than just the beating. She was being given a second chance, but she shouldn't have needed it in the first place. It was Gracia's fault. The crazy Knight had embarrassed her in front of Bronius and made her look irresponsible.

"Yes sir," she murmured.

Bronius turned to Gracia, who nodded grudgingly. "As you wish, sir."

"Good. Gracia, you are dismissed. We'll discuss this further inside."

The lady Knight saluted Bronius and backed away, Durandal hovering at her side. Dana watched the duo go. Gracia turned back only once, just as she entered the back door. Dana grimaced at her, but Gracia was impassive. It was only her stare, hard and cold, that gave her away. The look in her eyes said very clearly, _this isn't over_.

"Now then…" Bronius waved them toward the benches. "We'll make this quick."

Fay sat down beside Dana and withdrew more tissues from her purse. Dana took them and started daubing up the congealing blood on her cheeks.

"One day out of the hospital and she attacks you. The _nerve_ ," Fay said grimly, her jaw set. "Kellis, a little help?"

Dana paused in her ministrations, and then bent to pick up Purrloin from beneath the bench. The cat yowled piteously as she moved him, and Dana whispered soothing words as she settled him into her lap. He'd gotten a cut on his leg that she'd already seen, but there was another damp patch in his fur along his spine where the Honedge had cut him. She blotted it with a tissue.

Kellis drifted up onto the bench beside Dana. " _I will begin healing you now, with your permission._ "

Dana nodded, and Kellis let out a low hum, the air around her glowing pink. At once, Dana felt her skin prickle, the cut on her lip tingling as the Healing Pulse closed it. Other aches and pains disappeared, fading away into nothing. Within a few moments, she felt better than she had all day.

" _I cannot do anything for your face. I'm sorry,_ " Kellis said, closing her eye sadly. Dana winced and touched her cheek, feeling the scar still firmly in place. A gentle wave of feelings filled her suddenly, blunting some of the shame and anger and disappointment, though not wiping them away entirely.

" _Please do not be too angry. It is unhealthy._ "

"It's okay, Kellis," Dana said, forcing herself to put her hand down. "You still healed what that psycho did."

She said that, but… now that she was out of the fight, her mind kept replaying moments. Gracia's face, twisted with fury. Honedge lunging at her. Gracia stabbing at her neck, fully intent on killing her.

The adrenaline rush was fading, and even with Kellis' calming aura, Dana felt her hands begin to shake.

_Twice. That's twice in two days._

She sat quietly while Kellis healed Purrloin, and then she wrapped her arms around him and hunched over. His warmth against her chest helped, just a little.

"Dana?"

"S-sorry, j-just a little…" Dana trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence. She couldn't stop trembling.

_He could have died. I could have died._

Fay reached out and set a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

Dana nodded, but didn't answer. She started rubbing Purrloin's ears. The cat purred and began licking his claws. It gave Dana a little thrill of dark satisfaction when she realized that it was Gracia's blood staining his paws.

She hoped Gracia would get a scar or two out of it.

"Goodness…" Bronius said, and Dana jumped. She'd forgotten he was there. The old Sage sighed heavily; he seemed exhausted by the whole affair. "Please do not think too poorly of Gracia. She is truly dedicated to our cause, and well… you'll be seeing a lot of her."

"Oh. How come?" Dana asked.

Bronius pulled a long-stemmed wooden pipe from his pocket and began filling it with purple powder from a small paper bag. Dana watched the Sage's hands as they carried out the task, moving with a deftness that she found oddly fascinating. He lit the pipe and inhaled deeply, taking a long draw on it.

"I'm getting too old for all this commotion," he said, more to himself than to them. He puffed on the pipe, blowing a cloud of spicy purple smoke around him before he spoke again.

"Gracia is the Knight who manages this region. As long as you're a member of this branch, you'll answer to her in some respects."

Dana nodded, but had no reply. She was going to stay as far away from Gracia as she could, for as long as she could. Even if it was bad for the Team, she wasn't going to buddy up to someone like that.

"Very well. Now… on to business." Bronius withdrew a manila folder from within his robes. He pushed it across the table to Dana, who opened it. A handful of papers lay within, capped by a blurry picture of… Dana narrowed her eyes, examining the photo.

A teenage boy with a blue hooded sweatshirt faced away from the camera, laughing and smiling as he talked to someone out of frame.

She looked up at Bronius. "That's the boy from the Dreamyard." Fay leaned forward to look also, and Dana showed the picture to her.

"I suspected," Bronius said. "That trainer is named Hugh. He was already known to us before he encountered you. He is… I think you would call him a person of interest. What can you tell me about him?"

Dana went through her meeting with Hugh in the Dreamyard in as much detail as she could; his Pokemon, his behavior, motives for being there. Bronius pressed her gently, leading her questions down certain avenues and making notes the whole time. She finished by describing the girl who had been with Hugh, Bianca, in the same way.

Bronius nodded as she finished. "She's an associate of his. Miss Marion, Miss Bartlett, I'm issuing standing orders on these two trainers: Keep watch for them and report any sightings."

Fay spoke for the first time in a while. "Full alert for two rookie trainers? What in the world did they do to merit that?"

Bronius was silent for a moment, his expression grim once more. "The King is interested in them."

He drew the meeting to a close after that, and they parted, with Gracia rejoining Bronius as he entered the building. The old Sage gave Fay a nod and smiled at Dana. "I hope you feel better, Miss Marion."

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," Dana replied. She saluted him, and they left.

XXX

Fay led Dana back to her office, Purrloin and Kellis at their sides. A man was waiting for them, slumped over in one of the chairs. He rose as they came in, and Dana realized who it was.

"Harlan!"

"Kid, you…" She could tell the moment he saw the scars, because his mouth fell open and he stopped talking. The last of the nice feelings Kellis had inspired curdled and died.

Dana closed her eyes, swallowed, and then said, "H-hi, Harlan."

"Hey…" Harlan said slowly. "How… how're you feeling, kid?"

"I'm… okay-ish." Dana hesitated, trying to find the right words. She'd planned this last night, but the fight with Gracia had wiped away every last detail what she'd wanted to say.

"She's going to be okay?" Harlan asked Fay.

Fay gave him a sour look and sank into her office chair. "Gracia Phillips just beat the shit out of her and nearly cut her throat with a Honedge. I'm taking her home after you give her her bag."

Harlan started. "Gracia did _what?_ " He glanced between the two of them. When no one spoke to explain, he rubbed his head sheepishly. "Uh… anyway." He pulled a blue backpack off his shoulder that Dana recognized as hers. She took it with quivering hands.

There were spots of blood on it. Not many, but spattered here and there, little dots of red-brown staining the fabric. There was a small slit along one side where one of the Razor Leaves must have nicked it. Dana fingered the hole, wincing at the clean edge in the cloth.

"I uh- I took it with when Fay teleported you to the hospital," Harlan said. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "And uh- I might have used some of the stuff inside."

She looked at him questioningly.

"You were ah- you know, bleeding, and uh- I was… I used all your… your _pads_ to cover the cuts."

It took a moment to sink in. Harlan's embarrassment, and what he'd done for her.

"Oh."

Dana hemmed over what to say. Thanks didn't seem like enough. He'd saved her life. Maybe… No… What did you say to someone who held you in his arms and stopped you from bleeding to death?

" _A hug works well,_ " Kellis said quietly.

Dana blinked. Oh. _Duh._

She threw aside what she'd been trying to say and wrapped her arms around Harlan's waist. It was the highest part of him that she could reach. The gesture wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough to express how grateful she was, but it was a start. Harlan hesitated for a moment, and then patted her on the head, looking horribly uncomfortable.

"You saved my life," Dana said. She hugged him a little tighter, pressing her head against him. Part of what she'd wanted to say came back to her. "I owe you, Harlan. Okay?" She pulled away before addressing Fay. "And you. I- I owe you guys more than I could ever repay."

Fay grimaced at her over a mug of coffee. "Stop getting yourself into life-threatening situations and I'll call us even."

Purrloin made a grumpy noise from around Dana's ankles. She thought he was disagreeing with Fay.

Dana crouched down to rub his ears. "I think we can work on that for her," she said.

It was only as she scratched under his chin that she saw her fingers. There were dark crescents under each nail. It was dried blood. Gracia's dried blood from where she'd dug her fingers into the woman's scalp.

Purrloin's eyes flicked to her hand, and she knew he was looking.

He began purring.

XXX

Things kicked into motion after that. Harlan departed, indicating his outfit- street clothes that she hadn't noticed, and saying that it was his off-day.

Fay and Kellis gathered their things, and Dana prepared to return to the Pokemon Center.

It was only when Fay was throwing out a quick order to a Squire for things to do while Fay was gone, that Dana dug into her backpack, taking inventory.

Her hand sought out the little inside pocket first. It was thankfully undamaged, too deep in the bag to be harmed by the attack.

The cell phone inside blinked on at her touch.

_'_ _Low Battery. Four Missed Calls. One message waiting. Six text messages.'_

She opened the texts first.

Her hand rose, tracing the gouged, scabbed length of her scar.

' _want to hear from you. call me ASAP, Mom._ '

XXX

**Things are getting started...**

**This chapter took me a while, mostly because of the holidays, but I'm glad with how it turned out. A good knock-down fight is just what the doctor ordered.**

**A point I'll address:**

**Dana is a first-generation Kalosian immigrant. That's how she knows Fren- KALOSIAN.**

**Her lines seemed fairly self-explanatory, but she was asking Honedge if he was wild, and then where his partner was.**

**Any French came out of Google translate, so let me know if it's egregiously wrong or something.**


	4. 4

"Hi, have you heard about Team Plasma?"

She stood like an island in the middle of a stream, the lunch crowds of people flowing around her. The man she'd been speaking to was swept away within seconds, and Dana turned to the next person she saw. "Hi, do you have a minute to talk about Pokemon Liberation?"

The trainer shook his head and ducked away from her.

"Hi, have you heard about…"

And the process repeated itself.

She was nearly screaming to make herself over the hustle and bustle, and her throat was beginning to ache with the effort. But it didn't matter how loud she called. The crowd's eyes crossed her and kept going. It had taken her a while to realize that they were ignoring her. They _could_ hear her; they just didn't want to stop.

After a few, frustrating minutes where everyone who passed pretended she was invisible, she changed tactics.

"Pokemon Rights are everyone's rights!" she yelled, waving her stack of pamphlets over her head. "Pokemon Rights are everyone's rights!"

Someone stumbled out of the crowd and nearly knocked into her. Dana jumped back reflexively. Too many hard elbows had come her way already.

The person who had emerged was a blue-haired woman balancing a baby on her hip. Both of them were red-faced in the sun. The woman smiled sheepishly at Dana.

"Sorry, sweetie, are you alright?"

Dana smiled back. "It's okay, really. Would you like a pamphlet?"

She held one out. The baby seized it in one tiny fist, and the mother had to tug it away before she could look at it. Dana could see her mouth the words as she read the cover.

_'End Pokemon Slavery! – The Team Plasma Initiative'_

"We're a Pokemon Liberation group," Dana said. "And we're working to expand legal rights for Pokemon and um- change the dynamic between Human and Pokemon to eliminate the unequal hierarchy." The last part was cribbed directly out of the pamphlet, but it had sounded so good that she couldn't resist.

The mother blinked at her. "That's… that's certainly ambitious. Is this a school project, darling?"

Dana wilted. "No, ma'am. We're a national organization."

"Oh." The woman looked at her. At the pamphlet. She read the cover again, her brow furrowing as she did. "Well… thanks. Have a nice day."

Mother and child departed, fading back into the crowd.

Dana sighed and wiped her forehead. The sun was just cresting the sky, and the plaza in the center of Striaton was blazing hot. Stores ringed the plaza, turning it into an open-air mall, though there was little air today, no breeze to break the oppressive humidity. The hordes of shoppers milled back and forth, everyone hurrying on toward shade and air-conditioning.

"Pokemon Rights are-" Dana started coughing mid-yell. She was parched, and her throat burned. She sighed again and returned to the spiel she'd been using all day, rasping out the words through dry lips. "Have you heard of Team Plasma?"

The mother hadn't been the first to take a pamphlet, but it had been a while. Most people just waved a hand in refusal without even looking at her. She got a little thrill whenever someone actually took a handout, but the disappointments were far more common. The worst- and there had been a few, were the people who took pamphlets, only to crumple them up and discard them like trash within ten feet.

She managed to hand out eight more pamphlets before she was interrupted again.

"Kid!" Harlan called, waving to her from his spot across the plaza. "We're taking a break now, c'mon back."

Dana hefted her stack and hurried over to him. Harlan was sitting on a bench in front of a shoe store, well-shaded by an awning. She slumped down beside him with a groan. After three hours in the plaza, her feet hurt, she was drenched in sweat, and she was pretty sure the stiffness in her neck was sunburn.

Harlan shouted out again. "Hey, Piper, lunch break!"

Their third was speaking to a young man, offering him a pamphlet. After a moment, the man shook his head and walked away. Piper glared at his back before stomping over to the bench.

Piper Adeline was another Plasma Squire. It was the first day Dana had worked with her; the day before had seen her passing out pamphlets alongside Harlan and a stocky Squire named Brad.

She hadn't really had a chance to talk to Piper yet. The woman had given Harlan an extremely dirty look when they met, and then situated herself on the far side of the plaza from him.

Piper approached close enough to stand in the shade, but didn't sit. She was around Harlan's age, with glasses and short, curly blonde hair.

"So, uh- any luck?" Dana ventured.

"Not much," Piper said, frowning. Her voice was dry, and Dana recognized the note of frustration there. "How about you? I couldn't really see you through the crowd."

Dana's frown mirrored Piper's. "Everyone ignores me. And everyone who doesn't thinks I'm a Girl Scout."

Harlan snickered, and Piper gave him a furious look. "Shut up, Harlan."

"I want my stupid uniform to be ready," Dana muttered. "Things would be different if I had it."

She had the feeling that people would still think she was a Girl Scout, but at least she would fit in with Piper and Harlan. Sitting here, the odd one out in their trio, when both of them looked crisp and professional in their surcoats, made her feel like an intruder. She wasn't just younger than they were, but also a newbie, a greenhorn, someone who couldn't be trusted.

Harlan dragged a hand through his hair, glancing around the plaza. "We'll try again after lunch. I'm thinking… Santini's has pretty good food, doesn't it?"

Dana cringed. "It's too _hot_ for Santini's, Harlan, and we ate there on Monday. I was standing in front of that Kanton Kitchen place all day, and it smelled pretty good."

"Is that what that was?" Harlan asked. "I'm fine if you're in. Piper?"

The blonde gave him an incredulous stare, and then turned away without answering. "Dana, you wanna eat with me?"

"Uh…" Dana bit her lip. She glanced between the two adults. "I actually needed to talk to Harlan about something. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"With _Harlan?_ " Piper laughed derisively. She turned and pointed to a store across the plaza. "I'm going to Panchetta's. They have good salads and sandwiches, and besides- Kanton Kitchen doesn't practice humane meat practices."

"Oh. So… you're like vegan?" Dana asked.

"No, I just try to be aware of what I eat and where it came from," Piper explained, her voice proud. "Did you know that Kanton Kitchen is one of six local businesses chains that-"

"Oh, for the love of- tell her later," Harlan grumbled, rising to his feet. "I'm sure Dana will be happy to hear _all_ about it at lunch."

"Shut up, Harlan, she has a right to know!"

Before Dana could interject, Harlan set off without her. He strode away into the throng, a full head taller than anyone around him, and didn't look back.

"He is _such_ a dick!" Piper growled, glaring at Harlan's retreating back.

Dana sighed heavily. Did he have to be so difficult?

"Sorry, Piper," she said. "But I really do have to talk to him. If we're together tomorrow, do you still want to eat with me?"

Piper jerked her shoulders in a shrug. "Smoothies are on me, Dana." She paused. "Try not to let Harlan bore you too badly."

Dana only nodded in reply. She turned away from Piper and took off through the crowd, fighting the tide to catch up to Harlan.

XXX

The inside of the Kanton Kitchen was small and crowded, decorated in a style that felt more like imitation Kantonese than the actual thing. The menu was similar; a mishmash of foods from three different nations co-existing alongside Unovan fare, all under the cheery banner of 'Kanton Kuisine.'

They had to wait in line behind a crowd of other lunchtime shoppers, and Dana did not mind a bit. The air-conditioning was on full-blast, filling the restaurant with cool air and the scent of fried noodles. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and just absorbing the chill.

"This is paradise," she moaned. "Can we pass out manifestos in here from now on?"

Harlan chuckled, not looking up from where he was checking his phone.

They ordered, and received their food in paper cartons- stir-fry beef with noodles for Harlan, bourbon chicken and rice for her. Harlan led her over to a table by the window, stepping carefully through the jumble of tables and diners.

They sat. The world outside seemed blindingly bright compared to the restaurant; the people struggling and sweating through the heat with like sleepwalkers.

Dana opened her carton, but didn't dig in. "Purrloin, lunchtime!"

She cracked his Pokeball over the side of the table. Her partner emerged, stretched, and lifted his head, sniffing intently at the air.

Dana grinned at him. "First time in a restaurant?"

He leapt into her lap and immediately started trying to scarf down her chicken.

"Down, down! We'll share." She said, laughing. She pushed him away before setting out a separate dish for him. "I got extra meat just for you."

Purrloin gave her an appraising look before nodding. She parceled out his portion and barely got her hands away before he buried his face in the dish, eating feverishly.

"Wow," Harlan said. "He does that all the time?"

"It's because he was wild, I think." She jabbed her fork into her own food and lifted a mouthful of rice. "He's used to fighting for his food. The Pokemon Center said he's underweight, but that'll change now that he has a steady diet."

Harlan glanced at Purrloin before putting a hand to his belt. "Patrat, come on out." His Patrat joined them, its nose twitching as it took in their surroundings. Harlan bent down and offered it some of his noodles. Patrat cocked its head at him before snatching up a pawful of mixed vegetables out of his box. Instead of joining him though, it skittered away under the table, hiding beneath one of the unused chairs. Harlan looked at it, shrugged, and went back to eating.

Dana watched, her brow furrowed. It seemed like Harlan didn't know what to do with Patrat. "How long have you had it?"

"Only a few weeks," Harlan said. "It's… well, it's embarrassing, but I mostly got him for the pay raise."

"The what?"

Harlan rubbed his first three fingers together in the 'cash' gesture. "Trainers make more money in Plasma than non-trainers. It's payment for special skills. It's why you got such a crazy mission on your first day."

"Really…" Dana murmured pensively. She hadn't realized being a trainer made that much difference to Plasma. They were all fighting for the same cause, weren't they?

"It's one of the reasons Piper hates my guts," Harlan remarked, grinning. "She's got a serious hate-bone-" He coughed loudly. "Er- a real hate-on for trainers. It's one of the reasons I broke up with her."

Dana nodded, her mouth full of chicken and rice, her mind working through what he'd said.

Piper didn't have a _single_ Pokemon? There were plenty of people who didn't- neither of her parents were trainers, but Team Plasma was a Pokemon rights group. It seemed logical that Plasma members would love Pokemon.

She swallowed. "She's not a trainer at all?"

"Nope. She's a separatist." Harlan paused. "Did Fay explain that to you?" When Dana shook her head, he explained. "Separatists are the people in Plasma who want to free all Pokemon."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

" _All_ of them. And then separate them from humans. And _then_ overthrow the Pokemon League so nobody can control Pokemon again."

Dana paused with her fork half-way to her mouth. That was… that was certainly extreme. She wanted to liberate Pokemon, but segregating them from humans? Her Pokemon were her friends, her partners, her _family._ It was unthinkable.

As for overthrowing the League… she honestly hadn't thought about it. But she wasn't going to ask Harlan to elaborate and betray her ignorance. The League had always been something she wrote off as an adult matter, something beyond her scope, and it was biting her in the butt now. She knew enough though, that toppling it sounded just as extreme as total Pokemon separation.

"You're lucky you're in this district," Harlan said thickly through a mouthful of noodles. "Fay is an equalist- that's what you'd call me, and probably you, if I had to guess. And Bronius is pretty liberal also."

"Equalist?"

He shrugged. "Pokemon should be our equals. Liberation is… well… I don't see a need, you know? I don't like seeing Pokemon get hurt. We need to treat them better. But we don't need to get rid of them entirely."

Dana smiled at him. "I can agree with that."

There was a short lull in the conversation after that where they both focused on eating. Dana split more of her food with Purrloin. He ate for a moment, and then surprised her when he ripped a large hank of his chicken in half and offered it to her. She speared it with her fork, scooped up some rice, and ate it.

" _Merci_ , Purrloin."

Harlan looked disgusted, but Dana ignored him. Purrloin was her partner, there was no reason she couldn't share his food like he shared hers. That's what equal meant.

She finished her portion and pushed the carton away. "Hey… Harlan. Changing the subject a little, but I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Mmf," Harlan said. He hurriedly swallowed his noodles before answering. "What's up?"

She glanced around before leaning in. "This stays between us, okay? You can't tell Fay."

His face turned grave. "What's wrong?"

"Don't tell Fay," she repeated. "But… I need your help."

"Don't beat around the bush, kid."

"I didn't know who else to turn to, but…" She leaned even closer, her voice barely a whisper. "I need to find an apartment."

Harlan spat out his drink.

XXX

As it turned out, Harlan had his own apartment in Striaton, and, after he mopped up his soda, could recommend a few housing websites.

Dana only had one more day in the Pokemon Center before she started having to pay like it was a hotel, and her anxiety was becoming a palpable weight. She'd lived outside when she was first journeying, but she hadn't enjoyed it, and it seemed a little _embarrassing_ now _._ Plasma operatives shouldn't live in a tent like some kind of hobo.

Trainers had certain privileges that normal people didn't- she could legally get an apartment, but finding someone who would _actually_ rent to a teenager was a different story.

Beyond that, most of the places she'd checked online the night before had either been way out of her price range- she still didn't know how much she made in Plasma, or had made specific notes about "No Pokemon/Pets."

"Don't worry about it," Harlan said. "I'll talk to my landlord and see what he says. And…" he paused, thinking. "I can ask around at HQ and see if anyone has any ideas."

Dana's palm hit the table with a crash. "No!" A few of the other diners looked over, and she blushed and lowered her voice. "Please don't. I don't want Fay to know… it's the kind of thing that would worry her."

Harlan gave her a flat look. "Give me a little credit, Dana."

"Please?"

He sighed. "I'll make sure Fay doesn't hear about it."

Dana bookmarked the websites he recommended on her phone, and the meal drew to a close with them discussing Striaton's layout, and whether she cared about North-side traffic or South-side shopping.

XXX

Returning to the plaza after an hour in the chilly Kanton Kitchen was like stepping into an oven. Dana gave an involuntary groan, and Harlan made a similar noise beside her. He returned his Patrat, but Dana, after a moment of deliberation, left Purrloin free. He could stretch his legs before she returned him, but she was going to keep an eye on him. She didn't need to deal with another pick-pocketing. Purrloin seemed to be too sleepy after eating to get into much trouble anyway. He leapt onto her shoulders and settled around her neck like a fur collar, purring softly.

Harlan shoved his way through the crowd, now somewhat diminished, and they returned to the bench by the shoe store. Piper was already there, sitting with her legs crossed, and poking away at her phone.

She looked up as they approached. "How was lunch, Dana, did you-" Piper hesitated, her mouth twisting into a frown. "Is that your Purrloin?"

Dana glanced at Harlan. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she turned away. "Purrloin is mine," she said resolutely.

"Ah." Piper's frown grew a little deeper. She opened her mouth to speak again, paused, and said, her voice icily calm, "I didn't realize you were a trainer."

"Yup," Dana said. Purrloin went still and stopped purring, his body tensing as he sensed her agitation. She didn't miss the look Piper gave him, or the way Piper's eyes swept over to Harlan, narrowing knowingly at him.

Finally, Piper sighed deeply and shook her head. "I should have figured. I- it's too fucking hot for this shit…" She stood, wiped her brow, and nodded to Dana. "We'll talk tomorrow at lunch, okay?"

She walked away without another word. Dana frowned as Piper took up position on the far end of the plaza and returned to pamphleting. She'd half-expected Piper to yell at her, to do something, but it seemed more like Piper had been _disappointed_ in her.

"Told you," Harlan muttered. "Total separatist."

"Should I say something to her?" She wasn't sure what to do, or what to say; Piper's rejection was just so bizarre. She wasn't going to apologize for Purrloin- there was nothing to apologize for, but she hated the way Piper had looked at her, like Dana had let her down. It felt like she'd _failed_ somehow.

"I wouldn't bother," Harlan said with a grimace. "I told you we dated, right? We argued about this kind of sh- _thing_ all the time. She's pretty set in her ways. You'd probably just make it worse."

"Maybe." Dana's eyes found Piper again. Piper handed a manifesto to a young couple, smiling at them. They laughed at something she said, and walked away.

Silently, Dana resolved to get to the bottom of it. There had to be some way she could talk to Piper. They were both Plasma, both fighting for Pokemon, there had to be common ground they could find.

She didn't want another Gracia.

XXX

"Have you heard of Team Plasma? We're a Pokemon Rights group that…"

It felt awkward to start passing out pamphlets again, but Dana quickly fell back into the rhythm. She had a different position now, at the center of one of the thoroughfares leading into the plaza. It was a better choice, one she'd remember for the next time she did this. A men's clothing store stood just tall enough to block out of the sun and leave her in shadow.

Additionally, and Dana felt a little guilty for thinking of it, but her spot meant that she had her back to Piper. Just looking at the woman made her itch. There had to be _something_ she could do…

She returned Purrloin after a half hour. He went with a grateful meow, and she kept on passing out manifestos, but his absence was a greater drain than the summer heat.

"Hi, have you heard of Team Plasma?"

Harlan sidled over to her after a while. Dana squinted up at the big clock overlooking the plaza. The bronze hands read 2:30, the clock face a giant mirror in the sunlight.

"I'm heading back," Harlan said.

Dana nodded, and handed a pamphlet to a girl trainer even smaller than she was. "I'm going to stay for a while."

"It's not getting any cooler out here, kid." He rubbed the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "And besides… Fay will string me up if you get heat stroke or something."

A hot flush of embarrassment went through her. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Harlan said, shrugging. "It's Fay's orders. She said that two near-death experiences in two days were enough for her."

Her flush turned molten. Fay did _what?_

"I-… thanks, Harlan." Dana paused, unable to look him in the eye. There was an awkward beat where neither of them said anything.

Dana's thoughts raced into overdrive. How was she supposed to prove herself with Fay limiting her? Her usual method of going above and beyond would just make Fay think she was over-doing it again.

Someone passed her by and she handed them a pamphlet, the motion automatic by now. "Pokemon Rights are everyone's rights."

Dana stopped. Pamphlets. "How about this? I've got… three… four… six more." She showed Harlan her stack. "I'll pass those out and go home."

He thought for a moment, and then shrugged again. "Deal. But you stay hydrated, okay?"

Great Arceus, if he kept this up she was going to die of shame.

"Bye, Harlan."

"Cya, kid." He smirked at her before departing with a wave.

Dana returned to her task, chewing her lip as she stewed over what he'd said.

Had Fay seriously ordered him to watch out for her? It was mortifying. She wasn't a child. It was more was the fact that Fay _had_ taken action than what she'd actually done. Really, it was gratifying that Fay cared enough to look out for her. The Captain had done a lot for her so far, and Dana felt her debts to the woman growing by the day. But she hated, hated, _hated_ being a burden on Fay; that Fay felt that she needed to be looked after like a little kid.

"Pokemon Rights are- oh, thanks anyway," she said, withdrawing her hand as an older man waved her off.

The wind picked up a few minutes later, but it brought no relief. It was like standing in front of a sauna; waves of steamy, sweaty heat buffeted her.

Dana hissed and turned her face away from the gale. Her nose and cheeks felt raw and tender - definitely sunburnt - when the wind hit them. A bead of sweat on her brow chose that moment to drip straight down into her scar. The new skin stung and itched, and Dana rubbed it with a sleeve, only serving to irritate her sunburnt face more.

She wasn't going to say it aloud, but this _sucked_. She only had four pamphlets left to go though, and she wasn't walking away unless she was empty-handed. Her pride demanded it.

"Hi, have you heard…?"

Three.

"Pokemon are our equals, not our possessions."

Two.

"Pokemon Rights are everyone's rights."

A teenage boy a little older than her stopped. He had dark hair and glasses, and was somehow unruffled by the humid heat. It took her a moment of him staring at her for her to realize that he was waiting for her to continue.

"Oh- ah- hi, have you heard of Team Plasma?"

"Yes."

Dana perked up. "Really?" The people who had so far were far in the minority. "So um… what have you heard?"

The boy's even, unflinching gaze made her squirm a little. "I saw a rally in Accumula Town," he said coolly. "I find myself a little skeptical about the whole thing. How are you supporting Pokemon?"

Hastily, she unfolded a pamphlet, pointing to the relevant section. "We have numerous donations to Pokemon shelters, and last year we spear-headed a-"

"No," the boy interrupted. "How are you supporting Pokemon by making trainers free them? That doesn't make any sense to me. Pokemon only get stronger by being with humans and battling."

That gave her pause. She squinted at the boy. "What do you mean?"

"Pokemon want to grow strong. It's how they evolve and grow. It's their _nature_ to battle each other." The boy put a hand to his chin, thinking, before he said. "So really, if we let them go, we're forcing them to keep battling, but without our support."

Dana's mouth fell open. "Are you joking?"

"Are you?" he countered.

She made to speak again, but he pointed to her belt; at the Pokeball hanging there. "If trainers are so bad, then why do you have a Pokemon?"

Dana tugged the ball free and held it up before her. "Because he chose to be mine."

"So you own him?"

_Is that your Purrloin? I didn't realize you were a trainer._

She shook her head, forcing the thought away. "You can't own a Pokemon. I don't have a problem with all trainers; I just think Pokemon should have a _choice_."

It was the boy who hesitated this time, his eyes sharp behind his glasses. "I see… I… hadn't thought of it that way."

Dana licked her lips and took a deep breath, steeling herself to say what she knew she had to. Piper's words kept echoing through her, fueling a desire to prove the woman wrong, to prove that she was looking out for Pokemon, to prove that she wasn't _like that_ anymore.

"Test it."

The boy cocked his head. "Pardon?"

Her heart jittered, beginning to pound now with the weight of the moment. "You should test it. You can't own Pokemon. So you should give yours a choice- let them choose if they want to stay with you. If they stay, it means they're happy, and I have no problem with them. If they leave, it means they were suffering."

He stared at her for a long minute, the two of them a little knot of silence in the center of the footpath.

Finally, he spoke, a note of uncertainty in his voice. "Did you do that? Did you… make yours choose?"

Dana's hand tightened around Purrloin's ball.

Their faces flashed through her mind's eye.

 _Simon-Menchi-Rose_ - _Purrloin_ \- _no- not Purrloin._ _ **Never**_ _Purrloin. It was different now. She was different._

Slowly, Dana nodded, whispering her words. "They left."

The boy went very still, only his eyes moving, flicking from her face to her belt, back and forth.

"I- I see," he murmured. "I… you've given me a lot to think about."

He turned away stiffly, and started to walk away.

"Wait!"

She stepped forward and held out a pamphlet to him. The cover caught the sun, bouncing the light off his glasses and turning them into opaque squares, hiding his gaze from her.

"I was in the same place you were," she said, her words coming breathless, high and fast now; sharing the secret she'd never told anyone. "I had this same conversation with someone else. And it changed my entire life."

He took the manifesto and examined it.

"Just… just think about it, okay?" Dana pled. She'd imagined this moment, but she'd never realized how _brittle_ it would make her feel. It was like reliving that time, watching herself break all over again.

The boy was quiet, reading the pamphlet cover and not looking at her. Would he break as well?

"I'll think about it," he said. "Thank you for your time." He turned away again.

"What's your name?" The question came without thought, but as she said it, she found she wanted desperately to know.

The boy didn't turn this time. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her.

"Cheren."

"I'm Dana. I- I'm glad I met you."

Cheren walked away without another word. Dana watched until he disappeared around a corner, and then stared at the place where he'd gone for another long moment, her clothes rippling in the summer wind.

The feelings inside her swirled together; happy, sad, glad, proud, triumphant, despairing, and though she knew how she should feel, she couldn't quite manage it.

Dana sighed and rubbed sweat out of her scar again. Give her another go at the Dreamyard, or Round Two with Gracia… anything would be easier than what she'd just done.

_Did you make yours choose?_

She smiled sadly, and then forced herself to return to her task anyway.

Duty was duty. And doing the right thing was never easy.

Even if it made her remember- ( _Rose_ ) _-_ that time, and how stupid and fragile she'd been. Every pamphlet was a chance, a turning point. Just as a Plasma Squire in Castelia had handed her a brochure- ( _have you heard of Team Plasma, darling?_ ), she did now. If one person, just _one_ found their way because of Plasma, then she had done the right thing.

She stayed until she passed out the final pamphlet.


End file.
